History of Agriculture in Ohio to 1880 (review)

92CIVIL WAR HISTORY of both races cooperated in a lengthy and successful economic boycott, during which they created a "movement culture." Rachleff uses this term in the titles of two chapters, yet he never defines it satisfactorily in the text or notes, simply referring readers to other authors for a discussion of the concept. Knights' strength peaked in the spring of 1886, but disagreements between the racially segregated assemblies over social equality and joint political action soon caused the demise ofthe Knights locally. In this analysis Rachleff follows the interpretation of Leon Fink in Workingman 's Democracy (1983). To describe the world of black laborers, Rachleff draws upon manuscript federal censuses, records of the Richmond Branch of Freedmen's Savings Bank, newspapers, black and labor periodicals, and records of labor organizations. Unfortunately he cites the records of the Freedmen's Savings Bank without any reference to specific portions of the records. While he also cites a variety of secondary sources, particularly ones dealing with black and labor history, he does not cite the most recent history of postwar Richmond, Michael B. Chesson's Richmond After the War, 1865-1890 (1981). Twelve tables in an appendix provide detailed information regarding employment patterns in industries that hired large numbers of blacks. One table that presents the Richmond population by wards in 1870 would have been far more useful had it been expanded to include data for 1880 and 1890. A map of postwar Richmond showing the creation of gerrymandered wards would also have been helpful to readers. As in any pioneering work of this sort focusing on one community, comparative comments would have broadened the impact of the findings. One cannot help but wonder if Richmond's black workers were better or worse off in comparison to black laborers in other southern cities. Certainly Rachleffs study of black labor in postbellum Richmond presents a good starting point for further research into the history of black labor in America. Harriet E. Amos University of Alabama in Birmingham History of Agriculture in Ohio to 1880. By Robert Leslie Jones. (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1983. Pp. xii, 416. $15.00.) The relative rarity of detailed studies of nineteenth-century agriculture at the local level gives a certain value to this effort. Jones discusses Ohio agriculture from the early frontier stage to the beginning of the true machine age for agriculture in the post-Civil War era. He gives attention to virtually every type of farmer and farming activity from the major grains and livestock through tobacco to broomcorn. With some care and interest he develops the history ofthe major grain crops and the other major commercial industries such as livestock in BOOK REVIEWS93 separate topical chapters with a topical, chronological organization within the chapters. The less important activities, such as the raising of rice (in Ohio) and the "silk frenzy," are gathered into one chapter. Jones provides separate chapters on both the turn to machinery in farming and to the efforts to establish "Agricultural Organizations." For the dairying industry he not only discusses the evolution of the dairy cow but gives attention to the barns, transportation of the milk, and the butter and cheese industries. In each topic, such as that for beef cattle or wheat, Jones discusses the evolution of the particular crop or industry from the beginning through the 1880 period. One can find comments on early techniques, sometimes rather critical, the introduction of new varieties of breed improvement , the gradual adoption of different cultural methods, and then the turn to machinery. In almost every topic area one can find, although frequently only in passing, some indication of the social condition of the farmers and their families and the impact on the larger community. Jones also spends some time on allied activities with the cattle and swine drives as a prime example. He develops the process by which the drovers gathered the herds for transit and describes not only the drives but the hands employed in the movement of the stock to market. Similar, if brief, consideration is found for the processing industry in Cincinnati as well as the production of liquor. While this is not a great book, it is...