... % of all people owned or worked on farms. Initially, most farmers produced crops only for self-consumption or local sale. However, the rise of slavery and the increased demand for food among the burgeoning colonial population spurred a shift in emphasis from sustenance to commercial agriculture. Slaves were a free source of labor and allowed the white farmers to increase their agricultural production ... with very little corresponding increase in overhead costs. Freed from the burden of growing enough food to feed themselves, farmers began to focus on using their surplus land to grow cro...

• Word Count: 2312
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Graduate

... practice of slavery had not yet initiated the principles of slavery, a low-key equality existed between the master and the slave. Fortunately, masters were conditioned by English custom to provide food and shelter for their servants, thus slaves were adequately supplied necessities. Since the slave codes had not yet been put into place, slaves had the freedom of movement and were ... ...

• Word Count: 1066
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate