Rural American history is the history from colonial times to the present of rural American society, economy and politics. [1]
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According to Robert P. Swierenga, " Rural history centers on the lifestyle and activities of farmers and their family patterns, farming practices, social structures, political ties, and community institutions."[2]
- ^ For changing definitions see Kenneth P. Wilkinson, The Community in Rural America (Greenwood, 1991).
- ^ Robert P. Swierenga, "Theoretical Perspectives on the New Rural History: From Environmentalism to Modernization" Agricultural History 56#3 (1982), pp. 495–502 on p. 496. He adds: "The standard operational definition of rurality includes two criteria-residence in an area of low population density and chief livelihood earned in agriculture. But ruralness is more than location or an occupation; it is a way of life. Rural life, as distinct from urban living, traditionally involved physical if not social isolation, extended family networks, simplex social organizations, seasonal labor patterns and unceasing handwork, and an attitude of complacency in the face of nature's forces."