INTRODUCTION 7 



feudalism to American soil and build the agriculture 

 of the country upon a capitalistic basis. This is 

 a fundamentally important fact in the survey of 

 agrarian history in the United States. 



The cultivation of the soil as a means of produc- 

 ing food was an immediate necessity for the colo- 

 nists who came to America. Variety of soil and 

 climate soon revealed to these colonists the agricul- 

 tural possibilities of the country. The early settlers 

 profited by the observations they made of Indian 

 agriculture. They cultivated the native crops, util- 

 izing some of the crude methods of the natives. 

 Naturally they also applied some of the methods 

 of cultivation they had followed in the old countries. 

 While the difficulties and hardships were very great, 

 gradually the supply of food products increased. 

 Commerce in agricultural products gradually devel- 

 oped and the surplus was transported and sold 

 abroad. 



Commerce in agricultural products naturally pre- 

 ceded commerce in manufactured products, but in- 

 dustrial enterprise developed slowly through the 

 years of colonial expansion. Differentiation in vo- 

 cational life and commercial enterprise brought 

 about conflicting purposes. The interests of the 

 pioneer farmer increasingly came in conflict with 

 those of the royal governors, the merchants, and 

 many of the professional classes. It was quite natu- 

 ral for colonial settlers from the old countries to 

 build a new civilization on the old and decaying 



