1775-1820

On Our Own

T

The colonial period and the early movements to a commercial business

A A way of life business orientation

modernization vs tradition

Attracted immigrants (the magnet) - first to the Colonies and then to the new nation

Raised funds for new government

Inducement for service in the military

Land was an important stimulus to the overall development of the

nation.

Used to build schools and educational institutions

Financed roads, railroads, and canals

Food production

Encouraged investment/savings

Motivation to participate in a new form of government (democracy)

Republic of Texas: (1845) won from Mexico 9 years before finally ceding to the U.S.

Oregon Territory: (1848) purchased from England

Mexican Cession: (1848) from Mexico, the only military conquest of land

Includes most of the southwest and west coast

If feudalism would have continued in the U.S.

There would be no family farm High inequality: wealthy land owners and many tenants Impeded development of democracy, free markets, and new

technology Land would still have agreement issues There would be no immigration incentives in the coming

years

First conflicts between mercantilist and farmers

Jeffersonian Policies: create an egalitarian, small farm-based economy

Hamilton Policies: large farms, capitalistic

never clearly articulated

Hamilton - dispose of land with prudence generate revenue to build an industrial sector

Jefferson - free (cheap) land in small tracts develop nation of small cultivators

States Established a free land holding Policy through 5 common policies

1. Ended feudalistic practices such as primogeniture, quitrents, and ending proprietary grants

By the Proclamation of 1763 Fee Simple Titles were given

This made land a true commodity, not a private gift

2. Gave land to private individuals instead of state-owned enterprises which stimulated capitalistic society

3. Selling smaller units of land to build many small

communities

4. Use land sales revenues for government debt

5. Use land grants as enlistment incentives

380 Million Acres in US in this period

Midwestern States: (1790-1806) East of the Mississippi River gradually ceded to the US

Louisiana Purchase: (1803) from France, Doubled the Area of the US

Florida: (1819) From Spain obtained from Spain and included the important sea access to and from the Mississippi River

During the Articles of Confederation

Conservative distribution New England practice of careful planning; Failed to

maintain its tradition of purposeful, directed growth All white males could hold land

Ordinance of 1785:

Permitted for new territories to be explored and surveyed for distribution

Did not, however, provide for administration controls on disposal

Mandated 5 sections be reserved for government and one section for public school (a New England ideal)

Northwest Ordinance of 1787:

Established the Northwest Territory Equal rights as the other states (with statehood) Statehood granted when population reached 60,000 free

men Guaranteed religious freedom and prohibited slavery

The Ordinance of 1875 established land surveys of township size, 640 acres.

Land prices were cheap because the amount of land flooded the market, driving prices down

Because settlers could not afford to buy or use that much land, speculators bought townships from the government and sold it at higher prices to settlers

Cash only transaction between speculator and government (Confederation was low on funds)

160 Acres

80 Acres

320 Acres

1 Section=

640 Acres=

1 Square Mile

36 Sections 36 Sections in a in a

townshiptownship

Settlers generally could only clear one to three acres of land a year.

1. Indian conflicts continued

2. Individual States had their own,

often conflicting disposal policies

Territories were connected with and controlled by existing states

Ex. New York and Pennsylvania

3. Settlers were unable to pay for such large tracts of land which :

A. Slowed westward movement and settlement Credit intuitions were slow to develop, since

settlement was slowed and high risk

B. Land Speculation began as a result of poor administration, leadership, and organization

Debts to speculators were common and would soon be a serious problem

C. Created more squatters

A shift in land policies occurred because

The ratification of the Constitution combined with… an increased demand for land from a population boom finical/political pressures

Land Act of 1796

First land act under the constitution No change in the minimum purchase amount (640 ac) Price of land Increase to $2.00/ac

Paying $1280! First substantial credit which provided for 1 year to pay for

land

Land Act of 1800 and 1804

Representatives form the South and West wanted liberalization

Decreased minimum purchase to 320 acres Increased credit, up to 4 years to pay debt Greatly increased the disposal of land, especially during the

cotton boom (1/2 of all debt was owed in Alabama and Mississippi)

Importance of this Act:

Increased land sales and speculation Failed at earning money for the government (by 1819 only

half the land had been paid for) When farmers/speculators could not pay, they asked

congress for relief. They got it, 12 times Congress was basically underwriting land speculation

Land Act of 1820

Reduced the minimum sale to 80 acres Reduced the minimum price to $1.25 an acre Abolished credit Purpose was to help successfully earn revenue for the

Government Was a great help for the small farmer that was flooding the

west

There was also a huge amount of land given as military bounties

73.5 million from 1775-1855

1790: 4 million people in the new nation

95% rural population Rural was synonymous with farming

Hearty farmers from the Eastern Seaboard

Younger sons and daughters of established communities Land speculators Traders Soldiers

2 main routes during expansion

Virginia Valley (moving Southwest)

Pittsburg along the Ohio River

1. Conditions and terms of public land sales The size of land was too much for any one person The cost combined with the minimum size was too

much Created land speculation

This failed as a profit making enterprise, because farmers could not even pay speculators

2. Lack and price of Credit Few institutions (if they existed) in settlements

offered credit at feasible rates because The merchants were usually borrowing too There was a high rate of default

3. Lack of markets No western population or infrastructure to transport

surpluses Without incentive to grow, subsistence farming

continued This however was not the case in the south with

many rivers and varying culture and crops

Result of these 3 problems: the Farmer-Speculator:

As a way to make money and because small plots of land were not being sold, farmers would clear and settle (build shelter) on a few acres and attempt to sell it

They ran into the same problems: migrating settlers did not have the money to afford the property

However, this meager property was the only possession worth anything because of poor farming techniques

Exhaustive farming was still

being practiced because of

a) Abundant landb) Scarce laborc) No real means of commercial agriculture because of poor infrastructure and technology

Severe shortage began in 1810 and would last for another 30 years

This was because of competition from a new and booming industrial sector

This began a stronger need for farm mechanization

“Although many factors play a part in any rural

stratification system, without question, ownership and access to the land is the key factor.”

325XW Discussion Question

Why is land ownership central to

understanding rural stratification in our society or any other nation?

Unpaid family labor

Paid family labor

Unpaid family labor

Paid non-family labor

Paid family labor

Unpaid family labor

Tenant-sharecropper

Paid non-family labor

Paid family labor

Unpaid family labor

Part-owner operator

Tenant-sharecropper

Paid non-family labor

Paid family labor

Unpaid family labor

A model of social mobility is agriculture.

Is it still relevant?

Full-owner operator

Part-owner operator

Tenant-sharecropper

Paid non-family labor

Paid family labor

Unpaid family labor

Tribal (communal) access and rights to land existed by virtue of their membership in the relevant

social units Native Americans, Amana Colonies

Feudal (Western Europe) took root in Colonies serf (peasant) attached to land

Rental system

Owner-operator

Large scale business state farms, collectives, corporations

Family Farm

Hacienda

Plantation

Estate

Corporate

State Owned/Privately Managed

For Jefferson and other agrarians, in the 18th Century small farms were championed for

political and social reasons.

Freedom

Independence

Self-reliance

Ability to resist oppression

Dominant

Cultural

Values

The right to own land ensured the right to a job and freedom of

occupational choice.

•Seedbed of democracy and independence

•Full employment policy

•Guaranteed competitive market structure