Statistics: Agriculture in America
Farm Production
Year |
Number of Farms* |
Bales of Cotton* |
Bushels of Corn* |
Bushels of Wheat* |
Price Index 1860=100 |
1860 |
2 |
3.8 |
839 |
173 |
100 |
1870 |
2.7 |
4.4 |
760 |
254 |
140 |
1880 |
4 |
6.6 |
1,706 |
502 |
100 |
1890 |
4.6 |
8.7 |
2,125 |
449 |
90 |
1900 |
5.7 |
10.1 |
2,662 |
599 |
90 |
Source: US Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Decennial Census of the United States, 1900. Volume V, Agriculture, Part 1 (Washington DC: United States Census Office, 1902), plate 12
* In millions
Questions for Discussion
- What happened to farm production after the Civil War?
- What happened to farm prices?
Growth of Farm Tenancy: Percentage of Farms Operated by Tenants
|
U.S. |
South |
Non-South |
1880 |
26 |
36 |
19 |
1900 |
35 |
47 |
26 |
Source: E.A. Goldenweiser and Leon E. Truesdale. Farm Tenancy in the United States (Washington, DC: Government Printing Offices, 1924), 20, 23.
Questions for Discussion
- Did farm tenancy grow in the late l9th century? By how much?
- Was the growth of farm tenancy largely confined to the South? Or was it a national phenomenon?
Regional Differences in Urbanization: Percent Living in Cities of 2,500 or more
|
1860 |
1900 |
Northeast |
36 |
66 |
Midwest |
14 |
39 |
West |
16 |
40 |
South |
10 |
18 |
Source: US Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Offices, 1975), 22-27.
Regional Differences in Per Capita Income: Per Capita Income as a Percentage of U.S. Income
|
1860 |
1900 |
Northeast |
139 |
137 |
Midwest |
68 |
103 |
West |
n.a. |
163 |
South |
72 |
51 |
Source: Richard A. Easterlin, "Regional Income Trends, 1840-1950," in Fogel and Engerman, eds., The Reinterpretation of American Economic History (New York: Harper & Row, 1971), 40.
Questions for Discussion
- Did various regions share equally in the growth of national wealth following the Civil War?
- If not, why?