Piecing Together The Puzzle of My Life

Her father was a drunk, her mother was mentally ill, all she had was her three siblings to struggle with her by her side. Throughout her life she wasn’t given all that she needed, and her parents put her in many dangerous

Until the late nineteenth century, the United States was still an agrarian community. As factories sprouted to process the products obtained from agriculture and to manufacture farm equipment, there rose

As a person that has grown most of my own food, without chemicals or engine powered equipment, for the last 15 years and lesser so for many more years I can relate to some degree what it may have been like for a farmer in the 1800’s (I even live in a house built in 1850).

She and I had an especially close bond. Shortly before my dad’s accident, both her parents had died. I was the one who supported her through a very difficult year. As a result, she always treated me differently from the other kids—almost like an adult.

Much of the farming flourished in Mesoamerica, the Mexican valley of Tehuacan, is where the plant teosinte was specialized in becoming maize, the main crop of the Americas. They even learned that planting beans next to these crops enriched the soil to make them better. These great crops made for good trade with non-farming traders, due to their large surplus. Rich communities had become strong enough to capture their weaker neighbors and use them for labor and to gain riches such as land.

However, the Spaniards brought things over such as Horses and cattle. By having cows and oxen the agriculture was able to boom. These animals made it easier to produce more crops, while at the same time helping the indigenous people save energy. These large animals were able to make the work easier while at the same time increase output. The Spaniards brought over wheat, barley, various fruits and vegetables, olive oil, and wine. The most overlooked thing brought, were slaves. Slaves brought a huge need for labor while at the same time provided diversity.

During 1865-1900 technology made a huge impact in agriculture. What changed America was the expansion of railroads, limiting laws on goods that farmers sold and transportation of goods. Farmers began to harvest vast areas of needed crops such as wheat, cotton, and even corn. In document D shows you a picture of The Wheat Harvest in 1880.

After the Spanish settled in America, many new foods and species of plants were introduced to the people of Eurasia, none of which they had said before. Although most of the exchange of food was from the New World to the Old World, Eurasia also introduced the America’s to wheat and grapes, two very important foods for mass. Potatoes and corn were a major part of the Columbian Exchange as they provided a lot of nutrition and were very easy to grow. They could grow in soil that was previously useless for agriculture. Other foods that spread across Europe were tomatoes, peppers, chocolate, beans, pineapples, avocados and blueberries. This exchange of food was the main reason that the worlds population doubled from 545,000,000 in 1600 to 1,128,000,000 in 1850 and historians often describe this massive increase in the nutritional value and variety of

crops to grow and sell to the public, which meant more food supply was available to everyone.

They started to fish and colleting mussels, also they set up semi-permeant villages, and tended to stay put. They used Louisiana’s land by hunting, gathering, and fishing. “The agricultural revolution was about more than cultivating plants. It meant new foods. Different foods could be mixed together in pots and simmered over a fire. Soups, stews, and boiled foods were ancient recipes, but they were given new flavor with the addition of corn and beans” (Museum State, screen 1). This resulted in a large quantity of food, and storing of food, they also could stock seeds for the next spring. They rarely moved, except to their warm winter

work for landowners in exchange for food and shelter. Another economic change was the discovery of

The exchange of plants and animals transformed the way of life for many. Foods that has never been seen or eaten became daily consumption in most of their diets, which gave the opportunity for more people to thrive. “The Spanish introduced livestock, wheat, and sugar…” (Foner 24). People in the new world chose to cultivate old world crops, such as wheat and apples into different forms of crops.

Irrigation changed Yuma/Southern Arizona because Yuma’s crop increased. All kinds of fruits and vegetables were/still are growing. Farming, the households, and the employees would spend all their paychecks in local businesses. It was a bad because they would just buy things but it was also a good thing too because it created more jobs for people. The Colorado River would give eighty percent of their water to agriculture. The water was also used

New England’s harsh soil and climate made one’s living from farming extremely hardening, and the ability of the New Englanders to overcome this is “an early American success story.” These crops that were difficult to harvest put a premium on the industry pricing and caused the famous frugality of New

After the first foot landed in Jamestown, Virginia, colonists were eager to spread their wings into the New World, encouraged to start fresh, and renew their love for the good things in life. However, adapting to the new things around them was more difficult than they had anticipated. Food was running dangerously low and they could not grow what they had brought with them. The European crops just couldn’t live in the harsh conditions of a new environment. Nevertheless, they pushed on and were able to use new crops from the Native Americans such as maize (corn), beans, squash, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and chestnuts. Wild-growing foods such as berries, grapes, onions and plums, were also picked and eaten. There was certainly an abundant