The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 79, July 1975 - April, 1976 Page: 28
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Table 3
AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY AND PRODUCTION
(MEAN HOLDINGS)
1850 i860
Category of
Agricultural All Political All Political
Property & Farm Leader Farm Farm Leader Farm
Production Operators Operators Operators Operators
Number of
Improved 42.0 74.1 66.5 176.3
Acres
Cash Value
of Farm $1,138 $3,041 $2,749 $9,060
Bushels of
Corn 400.0 789.2 417.2 960.5
Bales of
Cotton 3.3 6.7 Io0.4 32.5
and of the political leaders were farmers. Thus, any comparison of the
economic circumstances of these two groups must deal with key elements
of agricultural property and production. Table 3 indicates that in I850
political leaders who operated farms enjoyed a substantial advantage in
the average number of improved acres, cash value of farms, bushels of
corn, and bales of cotton. Ten years later their advantage was even greater,
two to three times as much as the averages for the general population.
Especially striking are the figures on cotton, the most important cash crop
in the state's agricultural economy. In i850 political leaders produced, on
the average, twice as much cotton as farm operators in general. By I86o
this advantage was even greater, with leaders producing more than three
times as much as farm operators statewide.
In practice, then, political leadership in antebellum Texas was provided
primarily by an economic elite, people who were generally two to four
times richer than the population in general in terms of all important
Richard J. Jensen, Historian's Guide to Statistics: Quantitative Analysis and Historical
Research (New York, 197), 50-54.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 79, July 1975 - April, 1976, periodical, 1975/1976; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101203/m1/46/?q=%22oil-gas%22: accessed July 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State Historical Association.