Throughout the colonial period<注1>, most people depended on the land for a livelihood. From New Hampshire to Georgia<注2>, agriculture was the dominant occupation, and what industrial and commercial activity there was revolved almost entirely around materials extracted from the land, the forests, and the ocean. Land was seemingly limitless in extend and, therefore, not highly priced, and almost every colonist wanted to be a landholder.

　　At the end of the eighteenth century, approximately 90 percent<注3> of the American people earned a major portion of their living by farming. Generally, high ratios of land and other natural resources to labor generated exceptionally high levels of output per worker<注4> in the colonies. Most production in the New World<注5> was for the colonists?own consumption, but sizable proportions of colonial goods and services were produced for commercial exchange. In time, each region became increasingly specialized in the production of particular goods and services. Areas of specialization were largely determined by particular soil types, climate, and natural bounties of the forests and ocean.

　　In terms of value of output, southern agriculture was dominant throughout the colonial period and wellsintosthe nineteenth century. The southern colonies present us a good example of the comparative advantage<注6> that fertile new land can offer. Almost at the outset, southern colonials grew tobacco that was both cheaper to produce and of better quality than the tobacco grown in most other parts of the world. Later, the South began to produce two other staples, rice and indigo<注7>. For nearly two centuries, the southern economy was to revolve around these few export staples because the region's soil and climate gave the South a pronounced advantage in the cultivation of crops that were in great demand in the populous industrializing areas of Europe. Besides, there was the production of other commodities in the South. Deer-skins and naval stores were exported from the Carolinas, and iron in quantity was shipped from the Chesapeake region. Throughout the South, there was a substantial output of hay<注8> and animal products and of Indian corn, wheat, and other grains. These items, like a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, were grown mostly to make the agricultural units as sufficient as possible. Yet upland farmers, especially in the Carolina and Virginia, raised livestock for commercial sale and exported meat, either on the hoof or in cured form, in quantity to other colonies. In all the colonies in the South, food for home consumption was a main economic activity.

　　The middle colonies, the land between the Potomac and the Hudson rivers was, on the whole, fertile and readily tillable and therefore enjoyed a comparative advantage in the production of grains and other foodstuffs. As the seventeenth century elapsed, two distinct types of agricultural operations developed there. To the west of the frontier<注9>, succeeding generations continued to encounter many of the difficulties that have beset the first settlers. The trees in the forest had to be felled to allow for the use of horse-drawn plows. A living had literally to be wrested from the earth. At the same time, a stable and reasonably advanced agriculture began to develop to the east of the frontier. Gradually, a commercial agriculture developed. Wheat became the important staple, and although there was also a considerable output of corn, rye, oats, and barley, the economy of the region was based on the great bread grain. During the latter part of the seventeenth century, a sufficient quantity of wheat and flour was produced to permit the export of these products, particularly to the West Indies<注10>. The kind of agricultural unit that evolved in the middle colonies later became typical of the great food belts of the midwestern United States.

　　Vital as the agriculture of New England<注11> was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively unimportant part of commercial output for sale. Poor soils, uneven terrain, and a severe climate led to typical "subsistence" farming, the growth of only those crops necessary for family maintenance. Because it could be produced almost anywhere and because its yield even on poor land was satisfactory, Indian corn was the chief crop. Wheat and other cereal grains were grown for family use. By the end of the Revolution<注12>, New England was a net importer of food and fiber. Its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor, and from a very early date, many New Englanders combined farming with other work, thereby living better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecraft employments of all varieties were common features of rural life in all the colonies, but especially in New England.