Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the 19th-Century Plains
"An excellent introduction to the challenges and opportunities of agricultural life in a difficult region for farming . . . elegantly written." —Jeff Bremer, The Annals of Iowa
Prairie busting is central to the lore of westward expansion, but how was it actually accomplished with little more than animal and human power? In Sod Busting, David B. Danbom challenges students to think about the many practicalities of surviving on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century by providing a detailed account of how settlers acquired land and made homes, farms, and communities. He examines the physical and climatic obstacles of the plains—perhaps America's most inhospitable frontier—and shows how settlers sheltered themselves, gained access to fuel and water, and broke the land for agriculture.
Treating the Great Plains as a post-industrial frontier, Danbom delves into the economic motivations of settlers, how they got the capital they needed to succeed, and how they used the labor of the entire family to survive until farms returned profits. He examines closely the business decisions that determined the success or failure of these farmers in a boom-and-bust economy; details the creation of churches, schools, and service centers that enriched the social and material lives of the settlers; and shows how the support of government, railroads, and other businesses contributed to the success of plains settlement.
Based on contemporary accounts, settlers' reminiscences, and the work of other historians, Sod Busting dives deeply into the practical realities of how things worked to make vivid one of the quintessentially American experiences, breaking new land.
"A cogent and engaging portrait of the real lives of those who settled the Great Plains." —Nebraska History
1119462070
Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the 19th-Century Plains
"An excellent introduction to the challenges and opportunities of agricultural life in a difficult region for farming . . . elegantly written." —Jeff Bremer, The Annals of Iowa
Prairie busting is central to the lore of westward expansion, but how was it actually accomplished with little more than animal and human power? In Sod Busting, David B. Danbom challenges students to think about the many practicalities of surviving on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century by providing a detailed account of how settlers acquired land and made homes, farms, and communities. He examines the physical and climatic obstacles of the plains—perhaps America's most inhospitable frontier—and shows how settlers sheltered themselves, gained access to fuel and water, and broke the land for agriculture.
Treating the Great Plains as a post-industrial frontier, Danbom delves into the economic motivations of settlers, how they got the capital they needed to succeed, and how they used the labor of the entire family to survive until farms returned profits. He examines closely the business decisions that determined the success or failure of these farmers in a boom-and-bust economy; details the creation of churches, schools, and service centers that enriched the social and material lives of the settlers; and shows how the support of government, railroads, and other businesses contributed to the success of plains settlement.
Based on contemporary accounts, settlers' reminiscences, and the work of other historians, Sod Busting dives deeply into the practical realities of how things worked to make vivid one of the quintessentially American experiences, breaking new land.
"A cogent and engaging portrait of the real lives of those who settled the Great Plains." —Nebraska History
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Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the 19th-Century Plains

Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the 19th-Century Plains

by David B. Danbom
Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the 19th-Century Plains

Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the 19th-Century Plains

by David B. Danbom

eBook

$17.99 

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Overview

"An excellent introduction to the challenges and opportunities of agricultural life in a difficult region for farming . . . elegantly written." —Jeff Bremer, The Annals of Iowa
Prairie busting is central to the lore of westward expansion, but how was it actually accomplished with little more than animal and human power? In Sod Busting, David B. Danbom challenges students to think about the many practicalities of surviving on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century by providing a detailed account of how settlers acquired land and made homes, farms, and communities. He examines the physical and climatic obstacles of the plains—perhaps America's most inhospitable frontier—and shows how settlers sheltered themselves, gained access to fuel and water, and broke the land for agriculture.
Treating the Great Plains as a post-industrial frontier, Danbom delves into the economic motivations of settlers, how they got the capital they needed to succeed, and how they used the labor of the entire family to survive until farms returned profits. He examines closely the business decisions that determined the success or failure of these farmers in a boom-and-bust economy; details the creation of churches, schools, and service centers that enriched the social and material lives of the settlers; and shows how the support of government, railroads, and other businesses contributed to the success of plains settlement.
Based on contemporary accounts, settlers' reminiscences, and the work of other historians, Sod Busting dives deeply into the practical realities of how things worked to make vivid one of the quintessentially American experiences, breaking new land.
"A cogent and engaging portrait of the real lives of those who settled the Great Plains." —Nebraska History

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781421414522
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 04/27/2021
Series: How Things Worked
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 142
File size: 3 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

David B. Danbom is a retired professor of history. His many books include Born in the Country: A History of Rural America, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Preface
Prologue
1. How They Acquired Land
2. How They Built Farms
3. How They Got Credit
4. How They Built Communities
5. How the Plains Matured
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Further Reading
Index

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