GENESIS OF AGRARIANISM IN THE U. S. 91 



establishment of new colonies. England, France, 

 and Spain were the countries that assumed leader- 

 ship in the settlement of the western world. The 

 colonial policy adopted by each of these countries 

 was based essentially upon the predominating ten- 

 dencies in the home country. While the motives of 

 settlement differed, no permanent results were ob- 

 tained by any colonial enterprise until agricultural 

 endeavor became the predominant motive of those 

 who sought political domination, religious freedom, 

 or wealth in the western world. Agriculture was the 

 only safe basis for a permanent colonial policy, and 

 the gradual supremacy of England over her rivals 

 was due largely to the recognition of this fact and 

 the selection of settlers who were adapted to agri- 

 cultural endeavor. The French settlers, with rare 

 exceptions, were either unprogressive peasants or 

 daring and reckless adventurers. The Spanish colo- 

 nies failed for much the same reason. For the 

 purposes of this discussion it is sufficient to trace 

 certain tendencies in English colonial policies that 

 have a bearing upon agrarian tendencies in this 

 country. 



The task of establishing and maintaining colonies 

 in the New World was not an easy one. "The great 

 distance from the home country," says Lippincott, 

 "the time and expense of travel, and the cost of 

 transporting animals and provisions, were only some 

 of the initial difficulties. Add to this the need of a 

 year or more to fit the soil for the first crop, the un- 



