Land and Freedom : Rural Society, Popular Protest, and Party Politics in Antebellum New York

During the early nineteenth-century, two million acres of New York's farmland were controlled by a handful of great families. Along the Hudson Valley and across the Catskills lay the great estates of the Van Rensselaers, the Livingstons, and a dozen lesser landlords. Some two hundred and sixty thousand men, women, and children-a twelfth of the population of New York, the nation's most populous state-worked this land as tenants. Beginning in 1839, these tenants created a movement dedicated to destroying the estates and distributing the land to those who farmed it. The "anti-rent" movement quickly became one of the most powerful and influential movements of the antebellum era. The anti-renters raised issues that lay at the heart of America's republican experiment: the distribution of land, the nature of democracy, and the meaning of freedom. In doing so, they left an indelible mark on politics and public ideals in both New York and the nation. They influenced and bitterly divided both major political parties, and helped create the Republican party. Moreover, they shaped the ideas, policies, and careers of such national leaders as Martin Van Buren, Silas Wright, Horace Greeley, and William Seward. Deftly interweaving an engaging narrative history with broad-ranging social and political analysis, Land and Freedom brings to life the voices of antebellum northern farmers as they debated the critical social and political issues of their day. It grounds those debates in a detailed analysis of social and political change on New York's estates, and demonstrates the impact of farmers' ideas and initiatives on the broader social and political order. In doing so, it offers new insights into the social and political thought of northeastern farmers, the extent and limits of popular political power under the Jacksonian political order, and the social origins of free-labor ideology and the Republican party. "During the early nineteenth century, two million acres of New York's farmland were controlled by a handful of great families. Along the Hudson Valley and across the Catskills lay the great estates of the Van Rensselaers, the Livingstons, and a dozen lesser landlords. Some two hundred and sixty thousand men, women, and children - a twelfth of the population of New York, the nation's most populous state - worked this land as tenants. Beginning in 1839, these tenants created a movement dedicated to destroying the estates and distributing the land to those who farmed it. The "anti-rent" movement quickly became one of the most powerful and influential popular movements of the antebellum era.". "Deftly interweaving an engaging narrative history with broad-ranging social and political analysis, Land and Freedom brings to life the voices of antebellum northern farmers as they debated the critical social and political issues of their day. It grounds those debates in a detailed analysis of social and political change on New York's estates, and demonstrates the impact of farmers' ideas and initiatives on the broader social and political order. In doing so, it offers new insight into the social and political thought of northeastern farmers, the extent and limits of popular political power under the Jacksonian political order, and the social origins of free-labor ideology and the Republican party."--BOOK JACKET. Contents......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 1 Landlords and Tenants, 1785–1820......Page 24 2 Toward Crisis, 1819–1840......Page 58 3 The Fall of the House of Van Rensselaer, 1819–1839......Page 90 4 Origins of the Anti-Rent Movement, 1839–1844......Page 100 5 Land and Freedom, 1844–1846......Page 120 6 The Parties and “the People,” 1844–1846......Page 144 7 “A Right to the Soil”......Page 176 8 Fast-Fish and the Temple of the Philistines......Page 188 9 Free Labor......Page 208 Statistical Appendix......Page 232 Notes......Page 244 A......Page 296 C......Page 297 E......Page 298 H......Page 299 L......Page 300 R......Page 301 T......Page 302 V......Page 303 Y......Page 304 During the early nineteenth century, a quarter of a million tenants farmed the great estates of New York. Beginning in 1839, at least twenty-five thousand of those tenants joined the "anti-rent" movement and began a decade-long fight to destroy the great estates and distribute the land among those who farmed it. One of the most powerful popular movements of the antebellum era and the largest American farmers' movement before the Civil War, the Anti-Rent Wars changed the face of society and politics in New York and the nation, influencing the ideas and careers of such national leaders as Martin Van Buren, William Seward, and Horace Greeley. In the early 19th century, most of New York's farmland was controlled by a few families. In 1839, some tenants created a movement to destroy the estates and to redistribute the land. This work brings to life the voices of antebellum northern farmers as they debated social and political issues