The Southern Frontiers, 1607-1860

The Agricultural Evolution of the Colonial and Antebellum South

John Otto

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 1989
• Print ISBN:
  9780313260926
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313389405
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Although many specialized studies have dealt with the colonial and antebellum American South, very little attention has been paid to the Southern agricultural frontiers before 1860. This study focuses on agriculture, the primary economic activity and the single most important factor in shaping the South's colonial and antebellum frontiers. After examining the agricultural economy on the Southern seaboard during colonial times, Otto explains the economic and environmental forces that led to the expansion of upland and lowland agriculturalists across the trans-Appalachian South during the antebellum period.

Although many specialized studies have dealt with the colonial and antebellum American South, very little attention has been paid to the Southern agricultural frontiers before 1860. This study focuses on agriculture, the primary economic activity and the single most important factor in shaping the South's colonial and antebellum frontiers. After examining the agricultural economy on the Southern seaboard during colonial times, Otto explains the economic and environmental forces that led to the expansion of upland and lowland agriculturalists across the trans-Appalachian South during the antebellum period. Synthesizing sources drawn from history, geography, anthropology, and folklife, Otto has added an important new dimension to our knowledge of the American South. This book is an appropriate resource for courses or studies in Southern and American history, historical geography, folklife, anthropology, and agricultural history.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface: Reconsidering the Southern Frontiers
• 1. Introducing the Southern Frontiers
• 2. The Chesapeake Frontiers (1607–1775)
• 3. The Carolinian Frontiers (1670–1775)
• 4. The Backcountry Frontiers (1681–1775)
• 5. The Revolutionary Frontiers (1775–1790)
• 6. The Upland South Frontiers (1790–1860)
• 7. The Lowland South Frontiers (1790–1860)
• 8. Summarizing the Southern Frontiers
• References
• Index