《Land Policy and Tenancy in the Prairie States(pp. 60-82)》.pdfVIP

Economic History Association Land Policy and Tenancy in the Prairie States Author(s): Paul Wallace Gates Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May, 1941), pp. 60-82 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association Stable URL: /stable/2113396 . Accessed: 17/11/2011 20:10 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. Cambridge University Press and Economic History Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Economic History. LandPolicy 1 andTenancyin thePrairie States I THOMAS JEFFERSON believedthat politicaldemocracycould be maintainedin the United States only if it were made to rest on the firm foundationof economicdemocracy.The small landownersare the most preciouspart of the State, he said, contrastingthis ideal econ- omywith a congestedpopulationin urbancenterswhich would, he feared, threaten democracybecause it would be subject to control by agitators and demagogues.He urged the adoptionof a policy of cheap land that would attract laborers from abroad and from the eastern cities to the newly developingareas of the West and the South. Thus he proposedto create a nation of farm owners who would be the very warp and woof of democracy.2 Jef