THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION IN THE UNITED-STATES - THE DEVELOPMENT OFCAPITALISM AND THE ADOPTION OF THE REAPER IN THE ANTEBELLUM US NORTH

The social and economic roots of the rapid mechanization of wheat harv esting in the U.S. midwest in the 1850s has been the subject of a long debate among economic and social historians. While the participants i n this debate make important contributions, clarifying a variety of is sues, their reliance on family farmers' subjective motivations (''util ity'' vs. ''profit-maximization'') to explain the adoption of the reap er ultimately undermines their explanatory power. An alternative expla nation, based on a more realistic conception of competition and a reco gnition of the natural barriers to capitalist social relations in agri culture, is offered.