OFI 1112: Replay of How Did The American Revolution Affect Farmers?

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Today is a great day for Americans, farmers, and non-farmers alike.  As we celebrate the anniversary of American Independence we should think about the men and women who lived through this time.  With this in mind, let's look at how it impacted farmers in the colonies during the 18th Century.

Here are a few of the things that farmers went through during the Revolutionary War:

• Trade routes to the market were cut off by war, either waterways or roads.
• Farmers could not plant surpluses because they might not be able to sell the excess and it would just rot on their fields.
• Herds of cattle and horses were depleted either by the plundering of the British or as provisions for the Continental Army.
• Farmers were away from their farms for long periods of time and had to start over when they finally returned.
• At this time, 90% of the population were engaged in farming so this really was a war fought by farmers.

I wanted to mention something that I read in Stephen Ambrose's book "Citizen Soldiers" about farm kids in World War II.  He said that the commanders loved the soldiers that grew up on farms because they had been hunting for their whole lives, knew how to handle a rifle, and could shoot straight.

I wanted to pay tribute to four of my ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War in this episode as well:

• Samuel Hubbard
• James Wilcox
• Jesse Richardson
• Jesse Rowley