Land Values, Tenancy, and Private Ownership

Agriculture was the main industry in colonial America and for decades thereafter. In fact, the prospect of owning land of one’s own was a major consideration affecting the decision of Englishmen and other Europeans to emigrate to the American colonies. Two types of agriculture were practised. The first was the family farm, where output was meant to supply the needs of householders, with any surplus sold in the market. The other was the plantation, which developed early on as in the Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland), that began to produce tobacco for export. Other southern colonies likewise produced cash crops under the plantation system: before the introduction of cotton, South Carolina produced rice and indigo, both intended for export. Agricultural labour in the north was provided mainly by free men, with many serving initially as tenants before acquiring a freehold of their own. The demand for land was thus strong which together with wealthy speculators drove up land prices. In the south, by contrast, large landowners, including many of the Founding Fathers, owned large estates, the nature of which favoured slaves over wage labour. Even among southern smallholders, especially those that produced staple crops, the ownership of slaves was not uncommon.