Have you ever wondered how the United States made its spectacular transition from an English countryside colony into a skyscrapers-dominated landscape? And how did our ancestors manage to transform so much unbridled land into thriving urban areas? So, let’s embark on this historical journey and see how the division of various parcels from more extensive tracts influenced the emergence of the most fantastic US cities! Secondly, we will shed light on the US historical milestones changing the status quo and making farmers turn away from their lands for a brighter future in the cities.
Suppose you’re interested in your city’s historical roots or the actual development of lands and lots in your neighborhood. Then, contacting top local real estate agents might be helpful to learn more about the regional housing market in a historical context.
Reliance on Native Americans in land cultivation
Did you know that merely two percent of Americans live on farms nowadays? This wasn’t always the case, though. At the end of the 1790s, ninety percent of US citizens tended to their lands and cultivated crops.
Native American Indians learned how to cultivate tomatoes, corn, and beans centuries ago, relying on hand cultivation and rain for irrigation. They were the ones who educated the first British colonists on how to farm, grow, and harvest these exotic foods unknown on the old continent. New England colonists soon developed new and independent farms. Land ownership was crucial for them because it implied that they could vote, advance economically, and obtain higher ranks in society.
Original land measurement methods
Settlers measured land boundaries based on the metes and bounds survey system in the original thirteen British colonies. These were as follows: Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North and South Carolina. This survey system revealed property information based on geographical location (state, county, township, etc.) Secondly, it highlighted survey lines, showcasing real estate boundaries conveying distance and direction. Thirdly, it covered the boundary description using natural features (rivers, hills, and forests.) Finally, it mentions the neighboring properties and their owners.
Land surveyors utilized Gunter’s chain as distance indicators made up of 100 linked pieces of steel or iron that measured four 66 feet in length, adding up to four poles. Besides, they also benefitted from magnetic compasses to convey land direction.
The headright system
As early as 1618, the Virginia Company granted the so-called “headrights,” a legal concession of land, to the settlers of the original thirteen colonies. The labor shortage was acute in the new colonies. Yet the demand for processing natural resources, especially tobacco production, was roaring. Thus, they adopted the headright system to entice new settlers. Virginia colonizers already living in Virginia were given two headrights of 50 acres. Newcomers, able to pay for their transport, were given one acre.
Generally speaking, the headright system varied from one to 1,000 acres of land depending on a settler’s contribution. The condition was to travel across the Atlantic Ocean at their own expense. However, authorities granted land to those settlers who paid for the passage of an indentured laborer (an employee contracted to work without pay but for a future compensation or debt repayment.) However, ordinary workers or indentured laborers rarely had the chance to acquire their own land, which often led to rebellions.
The Land Ordinance of 1785
Native American tribes had gradually renounced their (legal) ownership over lands. Now with a vast land on their hands, colonists soon faced a significant issue: how to subdivide lands on the new continent. In the framework of the Land Ordinance of 1785, government surveyors set out to divide territories into independent townships.
Local authorities practice the major principles established by this ordinance regarding subdividing lands even in the 21st century. The law prescribed various types of land surveys. One of them determined that a township must be divided into one-square-mile segments. Then, each section must incorporate 640 acres. In addition, the piece of legislation outlined government policies to sell lands and lots west of the Appalachian Mountains, northbound to the Ohio River, and eastwards to the Mississippi River. Additionally, it established land purchase criteria, settlement, and government practices on the newly sold territories.
1873 New York Stock Exchange dismay preparing mass migration
Let’s jump almost one century ahead in time! Unfortunately, there were scant attempts to advance the US farmers’ interests politically and economically. First and foremost, the so-called National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (the Grange in short), led by Oliver Hudson Kelley, farmer, and clerk for the Bureau of Agriculture, intended to unite farmers nationwide. His initial intention was to create social and educational facilities under the umbrella of local Grange lodges. Besides a few Minnesota and Iowa Granges, very few farmers showed interest in joining the initiative.
Then, the value of agricultural products suddenly dropped in 1873. Businesses collapsed, and unemployment surged. Unexpectedly, US banks declared bankruptcy due to railroad speculations and an irresponsible crediting system. Following the 1873 Panic, the New York Stock Exchange closed, triggering a whirlwind of financial catastrophes nationally. We can trace back people’s inherent reservations against stock market speculations to these times.
Before the economic depression, agriculture and farming were thriving due to railroad transportation. Once the downturn kicked in, people couldn’t afford to buy products. Subsequently, farmers were left with a surplus of crops that they could no longer sell at the original price. The economy came to a halt. Prices for farm merchandise plummeted. Ranchers had to borrow money to plant crops. And, with prices down, they couldn’t reimburse the loan. The years between 1870 and 1897 meant a bleak period as numerous farmers lost their lands primarily because of the existing crops’ excess on the market.
The aftermath: industrialization’s arrival changed US demography
Industrialization marked one of the most impactful cornerstones in the structure of the US population. The overall development of industries, primarily manufacturing goods and tools, shifted the ratio between the countryside and cities. More people opted to switch their location to urban areas. In the United States, the second industrial revolution occurred in the second half of the 19th century. It heralded the advent of the steam engine, the extensive use of internal combustion engines, and electricity.
Besides, city life became more appealing with the inauguration of such seemingly convenient amenities as electric power lines, sewage canals, and railways. Suddenly, new industrial inventions dictated the economic pace. Consequently, many thought their life would become more secure in the cities.
Urbanization, here we come!
Moving from the countryside to an urban environment speeded up stunningly during the 19th century. Leaving their rural heritage behind, farmers found work in steelworks, coal mines, and textile sweatshops. Between 1870 and 1920, approximately eleven million American citizens moved from the countryside to metropolitan areas. The majority of foreign immigrants also multiplied the urbanites’ number, implying that more Americans resided in cities than in non-urban environments by the end of the Great War.
The assembly line became synonymous with economic progress, but at what price? Little did they know that these technical discoveries would harm our environment in the long run. Only in the 21st century do we realize the real butterfly effect the industrial revolution had generated. We strive to switch our technology to more sustainable alternatives instead of gaining a quick buck at nature’s expanse.
Conclusion
Population shift to the urban environment has birthed many appalling social effects, such as the process of gentrification and air pollution. Nowadays, we can notice an inevitable trend of going back to our natural roots and producing what we strictly need. More US citizens detest living in congested urban areas. Thriving on an out-of-the-ordinary patch of land, such as ranches, can grant you mobility and live off the grid to a certain extent. Another perk is rediscovering the classic American freedom in its genuinely unspoiled fashion.
