Le paysan américain et la terre à la fin du XVIIIe siècle

Résumé En

The Farmer and the Soil in 18th century America This article explores the importance of land in American society at the end of the 18th century and, more especially, the values which farmers attached to the soil. The main tenets of agrarian thought are examined and the reflection of this thought is sought in the daily life of the farmer through an investigation of rural diaries. The author establishes a calendar of agricultural activities and analyzes the social relations of production and the economic bonds of rural society in which family and neighbors are closely associated through mutual ties of debt and credit. Doubts are raised as to the easy availability of land and to the ready mobility of 18th century Americans. The article suggests that, despite the pressures of population growth and the changes wrought by the Revolution, farmers at the end of the century were deeply attached to two indissociable concepts, the dignity of labor and the right to a freehold, the key values of an agrarian mentality.