Would you say then, that many of these terminologies such as Planter,
Farmer, et al, may be simply a matter of "self perception" or of how a
person was perceived in his local area?
Hannah Powell
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter J. Lysy" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] VA-HIST Digest - 30 Jun 2009 to 1 Jul 2009 (#2009-40)
> The distinctions Professor Finkleman makes between the terms farmer and
> planter may be a useful terminology for contemporary historians when they
> write about the Antebellum South, but the distinctions are not based on
> historical usage and should not be used to draw hidden meanings from the
> terms as they were used a hundred fifty years ago. Usage was simply not
> consistent during the Antebellum era. A quick look at the compendium of
> the 1860 census illustrates these inconsistencies:
>
> The 1860 compendium reports occupations by state. A few examples: AR =
> 48,475 farmers / 438 planters; KY = 110,937 farmers / 7 planters; NC =
> 85,198 farmers / 121 planters; SC = 35,137 farmers / 2,521 planters; VA =
> 108,958 farmers / 80 planters.
>
> The compendium also reports the number of slave-holders who held 20 or
> more enslaved persons: AR about 500; KY about 1,250; NC about 3,400; SC
> about 4,700; VA about 5,500.
>
> In these five cases, the terms farmer and planter clearly do not correlate
> well to the numbers of slaves held, nor do they correlate to what we know
> about the types of crops being grown and the self-sufficiency of the
> agricultural units in these four states.
>
> Peter Lysy
> Archivist
> University of Notre Dame
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:56:04 -0700
> From: Paul Finkelman <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Plantations and Farms -- the difference
>
> Two main differences.=A0=20
>
> Farmers raised diverse crops for themselves and the market.=A0 A small
> farm=
> er in Va. might grow corn, wheat, some small animals, and maybe hay or
> toba=
> cco for the market.=A0 A planter might be less diversified, and would
> speci=
> alize in market crops (cotton, tobacco, sugar, rice).=A0 Many plantations
> b=
> ought most of their food from other sources because it was more profitable
> =
> to devote all their land and labor to cash crops.=A0 Ohio exported
> signific=
> ant amounts of pork, for example, to the South.
>
> Planters in the antebellum South had significant numbers of slaves (at
> leas=
> t 20 is the usually number).=A0 Many farmers had no slaves or only a few.=
> =20
>
> ----
> =0APaul Finkelman
> =0APresident William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
> =0AAlbany Law School
> =0A80 New Scotland Avenue
> =0AAlbany, NY 12208
> =0A
> =0A518-445-3386 (p)
> =0A518-445-3363 (f)
> =0A
> [log in to unmask]
> =0A
> =0Awww.paulfinkelman.com
>
>
> Peter J. Lysy
> Senior Archivist and Records Center Manager
>
> Archives of the University of Notre Dame
> 607 Hesburgh Library
> Notre Dame, IN 46556
>
> voice: 574-631-4030
> fax: 574-631-7980
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
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