Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America)

Throughout most of its history, American has been a rural nation, largely made up of farmers, and yet recent historians have not successfully surveyed American social history from that perspective. Now David B. Danbom, historian and former president of the Agricultural History Society, has written the first book to offer a comprehensive history of rural America. 
Ranging from pre-Columbian times to the enormous changes of the twentieth century, Born in the Country masterfully integrates agricultural, technological, and economic themes with new questions social historians have raised about the American experience―including the different experiences of whites and blacks, men and women, natives and new immigrants. Danbom also illuminates the complex changes in the interrelationship between rural and urban America, as the rural way of life not only became increasingly rare but changed in character as well―from one that differed markedly from the urban experience to one that differed only subtly, if at all. Combining mastery of existing scholarship with a fresh approach to a significant new body of material, Born in the Country is a work that will define the field for years to come.

Business & Money

Danbom, David B.

Industries

Johns Hopkins University Press

Born in the Country was the first―and is still the only―general history of rural America published. Ranging from pre-Columbian times to the enormous changes of the twentieth century, Born in the Country masterfully integrates agricultural, technological, and economic themes with new questions social historians have raised about the American experience―including the different experiences of whites and blacks, men and women, natives and new immigrants. In this second edition, David B. Danbom expands and deepens his coverage of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, focusing on the changes in agriculture and rural life since 1945. He discusses the alarming decline of agriculture as a productive enterprise and the parallel disintegration of farm families into demographic insignificance. In a new and provocative afterword, Danbom reflects on whether a distinctive style of rural life exists any longer. Combining mastery of existing scholarship with a fresh approach to new material, Born in the Country continues to define the field of American rural history.

Born in the Country was the first―and is still the only―general history of rural America published. Ranging from pre-Columbian times to the enormous changes of the twentieth century, Born in the Country masterfully integrates agricultural, technological, and economic themes with new questions social historians have raised about the American experience―including the different experiences of whites and blacks, men and women, natives and new immigrants. 
In this second edition, David B. Danbom expands and deepens his coverage of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, focusing on the changes in agriculture and rural life since 1945. He discusses the alarming decline of agriculture as a productive enterprise and the parallel disintegration of farm families into demographic insignificance. In a new and provocative afterword, Danbom reflects on whether a distinctive style of rural life exists any longer. 
Combining mastery of existing scholarship with a fresh approach to new material, Born in the Country continues to define the field of American rural history.

Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America) 2nd Edition

JHUP

195 pages. 
Urban America and Industrialization of Agriculture,
1900-1930

The Resisted Revolution: Urban America and the Industrialization of Agriculture, 1900-1930

Iowa State Pr

In 1930 Fargo was a winner in a region where winning came hard. As the commercial center for the vast, sparsely settled Northern Plains, it grew even during the Depression, attracting hopeful entrepreneurs off the farm. In Going It Alone, historian David B. Danbom shows how the city struggled to survive problems it could not solve by itself. A critical complement to Depression histories focused on federal policies and programs, this study demonstrates how Washington's initiatives for relief played out in a community of people born into a steadfast culture of self-sufficiency and independence.

Going It Alone: Fargo Grapples with the Great Depression

History

Americas

Minnesota Historical Society Press

Hardcover with dust jacket. G/G. Dust jacket is worn, rubbed and scuffed; covered with mylar. Boards are edge worn and scuffed.

The World of Hope: Progressives and the Struggle for an Ethical Public Life

Temple Univ Pr

Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the Nineteenth-Century Plains (How Things Worked)

Prairie busting is central to the lore of westward expansion, but how was it actually accomplished with little more than animal and human power? In Sod Busting, David B. Danbom tells the story of Great Plains settlement in a way it has seldom been told before. Stretching beyond the sweeping accounts typical of standard textbooks, Danbom challenges students to think about the many practicalities of surviving on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century by providing a detailed account of how settlers acquired land and made homes, farms, and communities. He examines the physical and climatic obstacles of the plains―perhaps America’s most inhospitable frontier―and shows how settlers sheltered themselves, gained access to fuel and water, and broke the land for agriculture. Treating the Great Plains as a post-industrial frontier, Danbom delves into the economic motivations of settlers, as well as the physically and economically difficult process of farm making. He explains how settlers got the capital they needed to succeed and how they used the labor of the entire family to survive until farms returned profits. He examines closely the business decisions that determined the success or failure of these farmers in a boom-and-bust economy; details the creation of churches, schools, and service centers that enriched the social and material lives of the settlers; and shows how the support of government, railroads, and other businesses contributed to the success of plains settlement.Based on contemporary accounts, settlers’ reminiscences, and the work of other historians, Sod Busting dives deeply into the practical realities of how things worked to make vivid one of the quintessentially American experiences, breaking new land.

How settlers transformed America’s most inhospitable frontier into an economic powerhouse
Prairie busting is central to the lore of westward expansion, but how was it actually accomplished with little more than animal and human power? In Sod Busting, David B. Danbom tells the story of Great Plains settlement in a way it has seldom been told before. 
Stretching beyond the sweeping accounts typical of standard textbooks, Danbom challenges students to think about the many practicalities of surviving on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century by providing a detailed account of how settlers acquired land and made homes, farms, and communities. He examines the physical and climatic obstacles of the plains―perhaps America’s most inhospitable frontier―and shows how settlers sheltered themselves, gained access to fuel and water, and broke the land for agriculture. 
Treating the Great Plains as a post-industrial frontier, Danbom delves into the economic motivations of settlers, as well as the physically and economically difficult process of farm making. He explains how settlers got the capital they needed to succeed and how they used the labor of the entire family to survive until farms returned profits. He examines closely the business decisions that determined the success or failure of these farmers in a boom-and-bust economy; details the creation of churches, schools, and service centers that enriched the social and material lives of the settlers; and shows how the support of government, railroads, and other businesses contributed to the success of plains settlement.
Based on contemporary accounts, settlers’ reminiscences, and the work of other historians, Sod Busting dives deeply into the practical realities of how things worked to make vivid one of the quintessentially American experiences, breaking new land.

The definitive history of life in rural America.
Throughout most of its history, America has been a rural nation, largely made up of farmers. David B. Danbom's Born in the Country was the first―and still is the only―general history of rural America. Ranging from pre-Columbian times to the enormous changes of the twentieth century, the book masterfully integrates agricultural, technological, and economic themes with new questions about the American experience.
Danbom employs the stories of particular farm families to illustrate the experiences of rural people. This substantially revised and updated third edition 
• expands and deepens its coverage of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries • focuses on the changes in agriculture and rural life in the progressive and New Deal eras as well as the massive shifts that have taken place since 1945 • adds new information about African American and Native American agricultural experiences • discusses the decline of agriculture as a productive enterprise and its impact on farm families and communities • explores rural culture, gender issues, agriculture, and the environment • traces the relationship among farmers, agribusiness, and consumers
In a new and provocative concluding chapter, Danbom reflects on increasing consumer disenchantment with and resistance to modern agriculture as well as the transformation of rural America into a place where farmers are a shrinking minority. Ultimately, he asks whether a distinctive style of rural life exists any longer.

Established in 1872 when the Northern Pacific crossed the Red River from Moorhead, Fargo quickly became an important town. The combination of the railroad and the wheat boom created a flourishing frontier city in the 1870s. The railroads brought goods into Fargo for sale, and established it as the area's major retail, wholesale, and service center. From 1880 to 1940 Fargo grew consistently with substantial immigration. Many of the early city leaders were Yankees from states such as Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, as well as Canadians. European immigration before 1900 was predominantly from Scandinavia and Germany, but after 1900 it broadened to include other countries. These immigrants brought strong traditions with them that became evident in the religious and cultural life of the city.

Fargo, North Dakota: 1870-1940

Biographies & Memoirs

Strom, Claire

Danborn, David B

Community & Culture

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

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Books by Danbom, David B.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Danbom, David B.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America)

Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America)

Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America) 2nd Edition

The Resisted Revolution: Urban America and the Industrialization of Agriculture, 1900-1930

Going It Alone: Fargo Grapples with the Great Depression

The World of Hope: Progressives and the Struggle for an Ethical Public Life

Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the Nineteenth-Century Plains (How Things Worked)

Sod Busting: How Families Made Farms on the Nineteenth-Century Plains (How Things Worked)

Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America)

Fargo, North Dakota: 1870-1940