Colonial Agricultureand the Agricultural Census

Native American SettingHunter and Gather / Agriculture SocietyMen huntersDeer, moose, beaver, otter, raccoon, fishWomen domesticated crops Apples, grapes, cherries, plums, berries, sassafras, maple trees,Corn, squash, beansTobaccoTomatoes, gourds,Wild OatsWild Rice

Two Models of Plant Evolution

1. WILD TAME (CORN)

2. WILD X WILD TAME

Wild Rice

Netum Variety

ShellsBonesSticks

Man power Dogs only animal domesticated

SpanishAdventurers sought Gold not settlementNo desire to cultivate fertile regionsWhere agriculture established it was neglected

COLONY NAMEYEAR FOUNDEDFOUNDED BYBECAME ROYAL COLONYVirginia1607London Company1624Massachusetts1620Puritans1691New Hampshire1623John Wheelwright1679Maryland1634Lord BaltimoreN/AConnecticutc. 1635Thomas HookerN/ARhode Island1636Roger WilliamsN/ADelaware1638Peter Minuit and New Sweden CompanyN/ANorth Carolina1653Virginians1729South Carolina1663Eight Nobles with a Royal Charter from Charles II1729New Jersey1664Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret1702New York1664Duke of York1685Pennsylvania1682William PennN/AGeorgia1732James Edward Oglethorpe1752

EnglandAgriculture was most favored occupation for development of Christianity Received special attention of the clergyBenedictine Monks decreed when all clerks, monks, converts, pilgrims, and peasants when engaged in labors of husbandry shall enjoy perfect security and those that all who molest and interrupt them, if they do not desist when admonished, shall be excommunicated.Puritan English Colonists New England

EuropeAgrarian Capitalist threw peasants off the lands they had enjoyed for centuries in secure tenure leaving them and their descendants with a great yearning for land.Land went to eldest son to keep land in large segments others owned none.Age Old Debate over land (society dependant) Land Ownership vs. Temporary Caretaker

New England ColonistEach Contributor and each stockholder received two hundred acres of land1620 Governor Endicott decreed that no injury be to the heathen peoplePurchased land from IndiansBrought cattle, sheep, swine, vegetables, wheat, barley, oats, and pears.Plowing with ox

PuritansDisorders were nipt before they take too great a head1633 all potent magistrates said unlawful for any man to kill any swine that comes into corn.The yeomen raised exceptionFirst general court repealed the law and said that it was left up to each town.Corn-growers vs. pig-owners led to special hog-reeve and impoundments.

English Interests in VirginiaBritish Isles furnished foodstuffs, livestock products and fuels for the citiesBritish Empire supplied luxuries for elite as well as materials for the citys industriesThe Mediterranean basin provided metropolitan London with silk, wine, sugar, and metals.

The Baltic basin, in turn, sent furs, naval stores, and metals to London.To reduce the drain of wealth and to ensure a steady supply of commodities, the Virginia Company of London, chartered in 1606, planned to establish colonies in the newly discovered lands of VirginiaSince Virginia lay in the same latitudes as the Mediterranean basin, it was believed that the colonies would furnish such Oriental luxuries as wine, silk, and sugar.

Cavalier English Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, and Carolinas)King James I granted approval for a group of businesspeople (not farmers) to settle Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.About failed but learned farming from NativesAristocrats -mansions, servants and slavesThe later pioneers were younger sons (not given land due to eldest), turbulent spirits, rejected lovers, disbanded soldiers, moved inland.

Capitalistic Attempts at Socialistic Society FailedBecause some would not workPeople were assigned to produce their own food or thrown out of colony.Tobacco cash cropSilk King James I encouraged so would not be dependent upon Asia sourcesSubsidized 1623 the growing of mulberry treesSubsidized 1656 for silk produced

Governor (appointed by King) had to be reminded to grow food crops of corn, wheat, fruits and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, turnips)Note:Virginia became a royal colony in 1624 when King James I revoked the charter of the bankrupt Virginia Company.

Observation and Experimentation1607 at JamestownNative crops of corn, beans, and squash1612: JAMESTOWN: John Rolfe raises Virginia's first commercial crop of "tall tobacco." Experimented with corn, cereals, fruits, and vegetables, wheat barley rye, oats, turnips and carrots as well as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cottonJohn Winthrop, Jr. (Gov. of Connecticut in 1635)Experiments in brewing beer from cornMaking syrup and sugar from cornstalks

Agricultural Societies/Census1785 Society for promoting agriculture in Philadelphia by professional gentlemen, merchants.Others followed in Charleston, South Carolina, New York, Boston, Massachusetts.

1785 General Washington was elected an honorary member of the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture which copied the British Board of Agriculture1791 President Washington, wrote to several farmers requesting information on land values, crops, yields, livestock prices, and taxes First Ag Statistics. Followed with first crop report.

Washington Washington wrote, in 1794 It will be some time, I fear, before an agricultural society , with congressional aid will be established in this country. We must walk, as other countries have before we can run ---1796 Washington told Congress in his Farewell Address It will not be doubted that, with reference to either individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance. He proposed a society to collect and distribute information and enabled through premiums and pecuniary aids, to encourage and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement.Failed due to Congress thought it was not intended for Federal Government

Agricultural Statistics and Birth of United States Department of Agriculture1839 - Commissioner of Patents Henry Ellsworth convinced Congress to designate $1,000 from the Patent Office Fund for collecting and distributing seeds, carrying out agricultural investigations, and procuring agricultural statistics.1840 - First Census of Agriculture which collected inventory of production for US.

1862 Lincoln established US Dept. of Agriculture the peoples departmentUSDA collected data and distributed crop seeds to see how vulnerable the country was in for food availabilityAlso collected crop and livestock statistics to help farmers assess the value of the goods fairer prices

Genealogy Research Ancestral Records

Today USDAFood Security Act Farm Bill Ready supply of safe affordable FoodMust know how much is being produced and provide some safety nets for producers and incentivesResearch Land Policy ownership vs caretakerConservation 70% Budget goes for food programsLand Policy Ownership vs. CaretakerFood SafetyLand Grant Universities Established in 1862Non Land Grant Universities Missouri State educate 40 % of students so Efforts in 2007 to gain entrance into Farm Bill to obtain funding for research

InterestingUnification of ColoniesKing Georges War Europe War but British Colonial troops attacked French Canada made Franklin propose the colonies unite by a grand council for defense.French and Indian War (vs England) 1754-63English trained Washington

ReferencesReport of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the Year 1866 Washington: Government Printing Office. 1867A History of Agricultural Experimentation and Research in the United States 1607-1925 by Alfred Charles True. United States Government Printing Office Washington 1928A History of Agricultural Extension Work in the United States 1785-1923 by Alfred Charles True. United States Government Printing Office Washington 1928A History of Agricultural Extension Work in the United States 1785-1925 by Alfred Charles True. United States Government Printing Office Washington 1929A Revolution in Eating. How the Quest for Food Shaped America by James E. McWilliams. Columbia University Press. 2005.