ABSTRACT
Structural considerations have had secondary importance in the formulation of agricultural policies in the last half century. Recent agricultural policies have been focused primarily on problems of sagging farm prices and incomes and, to a lesser extent, on income stability. This approach is in sharp contrast to the 19th Century when the preeminent policy issues were structural; for example, the distribution of public lands was a national issue dating back to the beginning of this nation. The debate hinged on whether to distribute the land in small parcels at modest prices to homesteaders or in large grants with the purpose of maximizing government revenue. Over a period of 80 years and many compromises, federal lands were transferred to private landholders. A second major structural issue dealt with the question of using black slave labor—the plantation system of the South—in the new western territories; and resolution of this issue came at a high price.
