Agriculture in Colonial America: Back-to-School Basics, Part 7
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Most Americans during the colonial period lived in small villages or on farms. About ninety percent of American colonists were farmers. The size of farms varied widely, from small plots of land in New England to immense plantations in the South with thousands of acres. Listen to today’s episode for more about agriculture in colonial times!
Agriculture in Colonial America: Back-to-School Basics, Part 7
Welcome to 60-Second Civics, the daily podcast of the Center for Civic Education. I'm Mark Gage.
Most Americans during the colonial period lived in small villages or on farms.
About ninety percent of American colonists were farmers.
The size of farms varied widely, from small plots of land in New England to immense plantations in the South with thousands of acres.
Farming practices varied widely in different regions of the country.
In South Carolina, for example, enslaved Africans worked on plantations to grow indigo and rice, mostly for export to England.
In New England, farmers raised crops and livestock primarily for local consumption.
This meant that New England farmers relied less than Southern farmers on slavery, a fact that would have profound consequences for the future of the country.
However, New Englanders did rely on thousands of indentured servants.
These are people who agreed to work contracts in exchange for transportation to America, food and shelter, or training in various skills.
Indentured servants would typically work for four to seven years to pay their debt.
Life for indentured servants could be very difficult but less difficult than that of slaves.
Indentured servants did have some rights and normally gained their freedom after fulfilling their contracts.
That’s all for today’s podcast.
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