Excerpt: To understand the form and the spirit, the successes and the problems of agriculture in the United States, it is necessary to go back into the past and study its history from the beginning; for conditions were at work from the start that have left their mark on our practices and institutions until the present day. Here are the highlights of the story from colonial times until the World War—a varied tale of great ambitions and achievements, mistakes and failures, and not a little native American rebellion. At the end the author sums up the influence of agriculture as a dynamic force shaping governmental policy in many fields.
