ABSTRACT
The years from the beginning of the Civil War to World War I witnessed a revolution in American agriculture. Practically all the arable land was occupied during this period, with more than 500 million acres brought under cultivation from 1860 to 1910. The expansion of the area under cultivation-increased mechanization, and greater use of scientific methods of farming contributed to productivity. Mechanized, specialized, and commercialized agriculture assumed a very significant role in the industrialization of the United States. In the years after the Civil War, however, inefficient use of the land and declining agricultural prices caused agrarian hardship and widespread political unrest.
