Question

Discuss the elements the led to the successful northern commercialization of agriculture and the differences between the northern commercialization and southern commercialization of agriculture.

Answer 1

ANSWER:

The main elements that led to the successful northern commercialization of agriculture included the:

-- Availability of land for farming of different crop varieties such as wheat, cotton and tobacco

-- The introduction of slave labour provided adequate supply of labour for agriculture.

-- Government recognition of individual land ownership (such as The homestead Act 1860) promoted settlers to farming.

-- Provision of financial aid to farmers to develop and buy land/credit facilities

-- The rise in demand of agricultural raw materials by European industrialists promoted expansion in agriculture

-- Development of methods of food preservation for canning and refrigeration encouraged farmers to produce more

-- An effective transport and communication network facilitated increased agricultural productivity as products reached markets on time

-- A population increase created demand for food which led to agriculture expansion.

-- Facility of science and research of agricultural (such as use of fertilizers and genetic engineering in production of livestock, biotechnology development of new foods from existing crops) facilitated the Agrarian Revolution

The South was primarily engaged in an agricultural society with farming and cotton as its main crop. Southerners heavily relied on slave labor to run their plantations and stood to lose their livelihoods if slavery was abolished because they needed a lot of manpower to keep it running. However the slaves were healthier and happier than Northern wage workers. There was lack of reliable transportation system, and cities were disconnected in the south. South relied mainly on booming agricultural economy, but the North's economy was turning to manufacturing. The north had developed cities which embraced factories and industry which did not require slave labor. The economy of southern was simply too dependent on slavery, agricultural, and property that it was nearly impossible for South to shift to manufacturing and industry