The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities

Wheat and Corn Production in Dollars

Slaveholders outperformed nonslaveholders in the value of corn and wheat production in Augusta, even though they did not necessarily monopolize the best soil. On the best soil Franklin wheat farmers outproduced their counterparts in Augusta, but on lesser soils Augusta's wheat farmers were just as productive. In corn production Augusta farmers were more productive across the range of soil types.

In Augusta the farms in the highest quintile of farm value produced a crop value twice that of the next lowest quintile in both wheat and corn production. This leap was not evident at any other farm value in Augusta or Franklin.

Augusta Franklin
Wheat, total crop Number of cases Mean Value ($) Median Value ($) Number of cases Mean Value ($) Median Value ($)
County Average 406 323 215 1028 434 361
Nonslaveholders 236 211 130
Slaveholders 170 478 390
Best Soil 334 332 228 485 558 520
Medium Soil 42 366 260 510 335 260
Worst Soil 30 164 66 33 158 65
Lowest Farm Value Quintile 70 79 26 171 134 72
Low-Medium Farm Value Quintile 89 119 91 225 194 156
Medium Farm Value Quintile 86 253 235 206 392 361
Medium-High Farm Value Quintile 79 388 390 202 544 520
High Farm Value Quintile 82 764 656 224 845 780
Smallest Farm Size Quintile 70 70 39 278 206 130
Small-Medium Farm Size Quintile 203 253 208 637 505 455
Medium Farm Size Quintile 73 471 390 91 584 416
Medium-Large Farm Size Quintile 46 676 643 20 628 520
Largest Farm Size Quintile 14 673 650 2 780 780



Corn, total crop Number of cases Mean Value ($) Median Value ($) Number of cases Mean Value ($) Median Value ($)
County Average 406 494 360 1027 257 180
Nonslaveholders 236 334 270
Slaveholders 170 716 540
Best Soil 334 501 360 484 312 270
Medium Soil 42 506 360 510 209 180
Worst Soil 30 397 203 33 200 135
Lowest Farm Value Quintile 70 153 113 175 100 63
Low-Medium Farm Value Quintile 89 262 180 224 153 135
Medium Farm Value Quintile 86 388 360 207 226 180
Medium-High Farm Value Quintile 79 582 540 197 320 270
High Farm Value Quintile 82 1063 900 224 459 405
Smallest Farm Size Quintile 70 142 113 278 126 90
Small-Medium Farm Size Quintile 203 378 360 636 300 270
Medium Farm Size Quintile 73 678 720 91 322 270
Medium-Large Farm Size Quintile 46 1005 900 20 401 270
Largest Farm Size Quintile 14 1292 990 2 459 459



The data are based on the GIS of Augusta and Franklin households--maps are derived from a D. H. Davison map of Franklin County, published in 1858, and a Jedediah Hotchkiss map of Augusta County, published in 1870, and based on surveys completed "during the war." The maps have been georeferenced at the Virginia Center for Digital History, using ESRI Arc Info to produce a Geographic Information Systems map and database of households based on U.S. census data from the population, agricultural, and slaveowners' schedules.

Edward L. Ayers and William G. Thomas, III
Wheat and Corn Production in Dollars
2001.

Points of Analysis to this Data:

"On a per capita basis, Franklin farmers grew far less corn and more wheat than their counterparts in Augusta, and their commitment to wheat was seen by many as both the symbol of the North's wealth and the evidence of its superior labor system."

"The richest farm households in Augusta, however, had a high correlation with relatively high wheat production and low corn production, and slavery enabled even greater success on these farms."

"The visible differences that slavery made in the arrangement of the landscape were apparent to many observers, but Northerners and Southerners interpreted them differently. Northerners focused on land value per acre and Southerners on the dollar value of their crops."


Citation: Key = E122
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