Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “19th century agriculture”
In the early decades of the 19th century, the United States was a nation built on agriculture. As Mark Oppold explains in this American Agriculture History Minute, no one at the time would have been surprised to see that the U.S. economy was overwhelmingly agriculturally based. Farming was not simply an industry—it was the core of daily life and national …
Early Farmers and the Realities of Supply and Demand In this American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold explains how early American farmers and ranchers quickly learned a fundamental economic principle: the law of supply and demand. These producers discovered that market forces could just as easily boost their prosperity as threaten it, depending on how supply aligned with global demand. …
The Dawn of Soil Conservation in Early American Farming In the early years of American settlement, the nation’s farmers often took the vastness of the land for granted. As Mark Oppold explains in this American Agriculture History Minute, early settlers “tended to be careless with the use and care of their soil.” With the seemingly endless frontier before them, many …
The Great Migration Across the Mississippi In the 1850s, the United States witnessed a remarkable westward migration as settlers crossed the Mississippi River in search of new land and opportunity. Families journeyed to Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, transforming the frontier into fertile farmland. This expansion marked a turning point in 1850s American farming, laying the foundation for the nation’s …
Revolutionizing Grain Storage The 19th century was a period of rapid innovation in American agriculture, with one of the most transformative developments being the conveyor-type grain elevator. These mechanical marvels not only increased efficiency but also reshaped trade routes and commercial hubs across the nation. Buffalo, New York: A Strategic Hub Conveyor-type grain elevators can be traced back to Buffalo, …
