Introduction; 1 Landlords and Tenants, 1785-1820; 2 Toward Crisis, 1819-1840; 3 The Fall of the House of Van Rensselaer, 1819-1839; 4 Origins of the Anti-Rent Movement, 1839-1844; 5 Land and Freedom, 1844-1846; 6 The Parties and "the People," 1844-1846; 7 "A Right to the Soil"; 8 Fast-Fish and the Temple of the Philistines; 9 Free Labor; Statistical Appendix; Notes; Index
Summary
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
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-281) and index
