Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Developing the Territory
2.1. Agricultural regions
Americans are very attached to their rural roots. In 1790, 90% of the population
lived directly off the land. Clearly, rural life and agriculture are still considered as an
ideal in the United States. President Jefferson believed that democracy was based on
the regular settlement of family farms, while industrialization and urbanization
based on the British model could only lead to misery and social struggles. US
government policy has always favored farmers, especially in the 19th century, when
westward expansion was primarily based on voluntary agricultural settlements. The
policy of mass immigration can only be understood as part of this desire for
settlement and development of the mainland.
The United States has long been the world's agricultural superpower. Their
agriculture is strongly capitalized and integrated into the overall economy. As the
world's leading exporter of food, one-quarter of cultivated land is devoted to export.
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT) sets the prices of cereal, which farmers all over
the world use. But this exporting dominance does not shelter US agriculture from
crisis and it does not exclude environmental problems.
The major difference between the US and Europe is the history of the settlement
of each region. The US population is dispersed, and from the very start, with little
exception, farmers did not practise subsistence agriculture, but commercial
agriculture at the demand of both domestic and external markets. This is why the
southern states, with their more crop-friendly climate, specialized early on in
tobacco and cotton plantations - the foundations of their distinct, slave-based
