Sowing Modernity: America's First Agricultural Revolution

by Peter D. McClelland

Overview

Contrary to those who regard the economic transformation of the West as a gradual process spanning centuries, Peter D. McClelland claims the initial transformation of American agriculture was an unmistakable revolution. He asks when a single crucial question was first directed persistently, pervasively, and systematically to farming practices: Is there a better way? McClelland surveys practices from crop rotation to livestock breeding, with a particular focus on the change in implements used to produce small grains. With wit and verve and an abundance of detail, he demonstrates that the first great surge in inventive activity in agronomy in the United States took place following the War of 1812, much of it in a fifteen-year period ending in 1830. Once questioning the status quo became the norm for producers on and off the farm, according to McClelland, the march to modernization was virtually assured. With the aid of more than 270 illustrations, many of them taken from contemporary sources, McClelland describes this stunning transformation in a manner rarely found in the agricultural literature. How primitive farming implements worked, what their defects were, and how they were initially redesigned are explained in a manner intelligible to the novice and yet offering analysis and information of special interest to the expert.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501728655
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	09/05/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	109 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

What People are Saying About This

Morton Rothstein

This book is both interesting and learned, drawing upon an unusual range of sources. It marshals copious evidence with verve and wit to support a wholly persuasive argument. Few books on the subject have shown such breadth and depth of research, such a wealth of illustrations, or such analytical skill. Sowing Modernity promises to become a classic in the literature of the economic and technological history of American farming.

Mary Eschelbach Hansen

Not since Leo Rogin... has an author packed so much information about farm equipment into such a small space. Professor McClelland gives us a reference work that should sit atop the desk of any serious scholar of architecture.... Sowing Modernity gives economic historians an interface with the disciplines of material culture and cultural history. The work should lead other agricultural and economic historians to consider the 1812–1830 period with greater interest.

From the Publisher

Anyone interested in small grain tools, implements, and machines will be fascinated by this book.... Easy to read, meticulously documented, it features a huge number of useful illustrations.... The research is impressive, the writing clear and pleasant, and the facts well and correctly presented. Anyone interested in the history of agricultural engineering will find this work especially rewarding. Almost anyone can learn from it.

Wayne Randolph

Balanced, comprehensive, and fair describe Peter McClelland's in-depth look at the application of ideas leading to America's first agricultural revolution. His thesis challenges long-held notions of when and how American farmers took their first giant step toward technological dominance. But McClelland's thorough research and careful analysis of mechanics in addition to motivations do more, by filling a gap in the literature concerning early American agricultural tools and equipment. His comprehensive treatment of changes in the practical 'nuts and bolts' of agriculture is a welcomed perspective to serious students and those seeking a fascinating read.

Allan G. Bogue

A distinguished contribution to the field, materially advancing our knowledge of agrarian technological development and contributing as well to our understanding of technological innovation in America.

Editorial Reviews

McClelland (economics, Cornell U.) claims that the initial transformation of American agriculture was an unmistakable revolution. Ten chapters survey practices from crop rotation to livestock breeding, with a focus on the change in implements used to produce small grains. He argues that the first great surge in inventive activity in agronomy took place immediately following the War of 1812, virtually assuring the march to modernization. Two appendices discuss remedies for soil exhaustion and the breeding and raising of livestock. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Sowing Modernity is ably researched, written, and presented. It concerns rapid innovations in farm implements during the first half century of the Republic, especially between 1815 and 1830.... McClelland is a clear and engaging writer, with a knack for pointing out what was important. He makes what could have been an abstruse and tedious subject understandable and interesting. The book is richly illustrated.

Journal of American History - Brian Donahue

Sowing Modernity offers ample evidence to support the thesis that America was the first nation to gain independence and develop a national characteristic of finding better ways of accomplishing work. His focus on agricultural implements makes this work mandatory for institutional libraries..

ALHFAM (Association for Living History Farm and Agricultural Museums) Bulletin

"This book is both interesting and learned, drawing upon an unusual range of sources. It marshals copious evidence with verve and wit to support a wholly persuasive argument. Few books on the subject have shown such breadth and depth of research, such a wealth of illustrations, or such analytical skill. Sowing Modernity promises to become a classic in the literature of the economic and technological history of American farming."

Morton Rothstein

"Not since Leo Rogin... has an author packed so much information about farm equipment into such a small space. Professor McClelland gives us a reference work that should sit atop the desk of any serious scholar of architecture.... Sowing Modernity gives economic historians an interface with the disciplines of material culture and cultural history. The work should lead other agricultural and economic historians to consider the 1812–1830 period with greater interest."

Mary Eschelbach Hansen

"Balanced, comprehensive, and fair describe Peter McClelland's in-depth look at the application of ideas leading to America's first agricultural revolution. His thesis challenges long-held notions of when and how American farmers took their first giant step toward technological dominance. But McClelland's thorough research and careful analysis of mechanics in addition to motivations do more, by filling a gap in the literature concerning early American agricultural tools and equipment. His comprehensive treatment of changes in the practical 'nuts and bolts' of agriculture is a welcomed perspective to serious students and those seeking a fascinating read."

Wayne Randolph

"Sowing Modernity thoroughly examines innovations in techniques and technologies applied to plowing, sowing, harrowing, cultivating, reaping, threshing, winnowing, and straw cutting.... Readers will profit from McClelland's clear discussion of the parameters and considerations that underlay agricultural technologies and few books provide such well-illustrated and well-explained descriptions of agricultural implements.... A solidly researched, well-illustrated, and most informative study of agricultural improvements in the early nineteenth century."

From the Publisher

"A distinguished contribution to the field, materially advancing our knowledge of agrarian technological development and contributing as well to our understanding of technological innovation in America."

Allan G. Bogue