Agricultural Laborers in the 19th Century America

研究19世纪美国农业的历史学家对农业劳动者的关注并不多。对南方来说，是奴隶制引起了人们的注意，而对北方来说，家庭形式被认为是重要的。由于它们的历史意义和核心政治作用，这两个机构理所当然地引起了历史学家的关注。本研究的目的是将重点放在被遗忘的人物--农业劳动者身上，并了解他们在19世纪美国农业发展中的作用。在研究过程中，收集和分析了纽约州、新英格兰和中西部的历史资料。手稿普查记录显示，有相当数量的人报告他们的职业是农场工人。他们中的一些人是农民的儿子，他们将来也会成为独立的农民，但也有一些人是中年人和外国移民。尽管移民主要是产业工人，但值得注意的是，也有一些人是农场工人。在雇主方面，大多数农场雇佣了雇佣的帮手，特别是在收获季节。没有他们的帮助，即使是家庭农场，也很难管理农场。农业劳动力在淡季也在城镇和运输服务部门工作。这一事实表明了农场和城镇之间的密切经济联系。

Historians investigating agriculture in the nineteenth-century America have paid not much attention to agricultural laborers. For the South, it was slavery that attracted attention, and for the North it was family form that was thought to be important. Because of their historical significance and central political role, it was natural that these two institutions commanded historians' attention. The purpose of the present research is to put focus upon the forgotten figure, agricultural laborers, and understand their role in the agricultural development of the nineteenth-century America. Historical source materials from New York State, New England, and the Middle West were collected and analyzed in the course of research. Manuscript census records show that there were considerable number of people who reported their occupation as farm laborers. Some of them were sons of farmers who would become independent farmers themselves in the future, but some were middle-aged people and foreign immigrants. Although immigrants were mainly industrial workers, it is noticeable that some were farm laborers. On the employers' side, most farms employed hired help, especially during harvest season. Without their help, it was difficult to manage farms even in the case of family farms. Agricultural laborers also worked in towns and transportation services during the slack season. This fact indicates the close economic connection between farms and towns.