GENESIS OF AGRARIANISM IN THE U. S. 101 



All other laborers were given one month of the year 

 to work for themselves. 



Many of the colonists were adventurers who were 

 not inclined to do any kind of hard work. As they 

 were unaccustomed to labor with their hands, they 

 objected to clearing the land and cultivating the 

 fields. They resented the autocratic and vigorous 

 policies of Governor Dale. Some resorted to in- 

 trigue; others fled to the forests to escape the labor 

 demands made upon them. The situation was criti- 

 cal, and Dale resorted to harsh methods. Some were 

 punished by hanging, and one was tied to a tree to 

 starve. These methods, while harsh, brought re- 

 sults, and when he left the colony in 1616 the settlers 

 had become reconciled to devoting their energies to 

 the agricultural resources of the country. They had 

 discovered the possibilities oif agriculture in the 

 New World. They had found out that tobacco could 

 be raised profitably, and entered upon its cultivation 

 with energy. 



The conflict between landlords and peasants in the 

 short-lived manorial system of Lord Baltimore in 

 Maryland reminds us of similar conflicts on some of 

 the medieval manors of Europe in the Middle Ages. 

 This was the nearest approach to the feudal system 

 of Europe that ever existed within the bounds of 

 our country. Maryland was the only colony in 

 which the privilege of granting titles of nobility was 

 authorized. Under the charter provisions of this 

 colony the lord of the manor was authorized to hold 



