Born in the Country

This text presents a comprehensive history of rural America. Ranging from pre-Columbian times to the changes of the 20th century, it integrates agricultural, technological and economic themes as well as describing the experiences of whites and blacks, men and women, natives and new immigrants. Several chapters begin with the stories of particular farm families as illustrative case studies of changes in the lives of rural people, including the persistence of Old World culture, the evolution from subsistence to commercial farming and the decline of family farming.