Book Reviews 403 the most important of six factors in bringing about the decision. He asserts t h a t Allied propaganda accentuated many of these factors, but t h a t i t would not have borne f r u i t without receptive soil. Unfortunately, except f o r t h c defense of neutral rights, the majority of Hoosiers gave little thought to the relation of belligerency and American foreign policy. “Their failure was of little consequence in the prosecution of the w a r , f o r they agreed well enough on the immediate target. But what was unessential in w a r might be crucial in making peace.” The Farmer’s Last Frontiey, Agriculture, 1860-1897. By Fred A. Shannon (Volume V of T h e Economic History of the United States, F a r r a r & Rinehart, Inc., New York, c. 1945, pp. xii, 434. Text edition, $3.75, t r a d e edition, $5.00.) With the appearance of this volume a new co-operative economic history is introduced. The series is to contain nine volumes. The period before 1815 will be described i n two general volumes, the years from 1815 to 1860 will be treated in a volume devoted to agriculture and another to industry, the period from 1860 to 1897 will also be covered i n this manner, while the present century will be described in three general volumes. If the others meet the high standards set by this one, history will be enriched by a significant and thorough treatment of the economic development of the United States. The absence of a work of this type has been a notable defect of historical literature. This volume is f i r s t of all a comprehensive account of agricultural developments from the beginning of the Civil W a r to the end of the century. It also summarizes i n the excellent footnote citations and in the final bibliographical chapter the scholarly literature and much of the source ma- terial concerning the subject. Occasionally one fails to find a n important work included, but t h a t is rarely true. It sets f o r t h conclusions and interpretations at variance with older works particularly in relation to the national land policy. After noting t h a t the fundamental basis of the farmers’ difficulties on the Last Frontier were the differences of soil, climate, and distance, the author described the rapid settle- ment which was often influenced by artificial stimulants Max P. Allen. 404 Indiana iMagazine o f History supplied by t h e railroads, states, and land companies. The corporations, railroads, cattle and lumber barons, and land companies were the chief beneficiaries of t h e land laws ac- cording to the author’s analysis. His judgments a r e reflected in a group of quotations. “In its operations the Homestead Act could hardly have defeated the hopes of the enthusiasts of 1840-1860 more completely if the makers had actually drafted i t with t h a t purpose uppermost i n mind [p. 541.” “It tempted settlers out to the arid stretches where a quar- t e r section was barely enough f o r t h e grazing of two or three cattle [p. 571 .” “The [railroad] companies were not only given their railroads-they were given a bonus [usually land] to accept them [p. 671.” “Some $200,000,000 were paid to Indian tribes to quiet their claims, and then t h e land was turned over t o speculators a t less t h a n cost [p. 691.” The agricultural reorganization of the South a f t e r 1865 with its labor system of tenant f a r m e r s and s h a r e croppers and its credit system of crop mortgages is also critically examined. “The outright confiscation of large p a r t s of es- tates created by slave labor, to make f a r m s f o r freedmen, would in the long r u n have created more prosperity f o r t h e section t h a n the growth of land monopolization t h a t took place instead, and t h e simultaneous establishment of a sys- tem of quasi serfdom t h a t left the toilers without ambition and t h e landlord with ruined soils and finances [pp. 79-80].” The classes of the South where the crop-lien system predom- inated were “the landlord-merchant-banker-capitalist group, numbering approximately a sixth of t h e total population and having all t h e political power; [and] . . . t h e bulk of field workers, living from enfeebled hand t o empty mouth [p. 991.” Even in the North Central states “a remarkable growth in tenancy” occurred which was not checked by t h e mechan- ization of the farms. The expansion of prairie agriculture in t h e Great Plains led to the plowing of t h e g r a s s lands t h a t should have been reserved f o r grazing. Both t h e “little fellow” and the “bonanza f a r m e r ” often failed. The live- stock frontier ,was another story of injustice a n d special privilege, and the cowboy was f a r less romantic t h a n usually pictured. Problems of the West a r e discussed in the light of the agrarian revolt and t h e co-operative movement which a r e also described sympathetically. Eastern adjustments, the declining position of the f a r m e r s in the nation, and his Book Reviews 405 social life a r e not overlooked in completing the story. Perhaps some views of t h e author have been over- emphasized, but one can scarcely avoid t h e feeling t h a t he has offered a few judgments t h a t a r e somewhat extreme in his treatment of the Great Plains and the South. His analysis is skillful and scholarly and the total picture may not be overdrawn. The illustrations and charts a r e excel- lent. The binding of the textbook edition is not attractive and is so light in color t h a t it will soil readily and become less attractive. Although much of the volume is not con- cerned with t h e Middle West, i t presents the background f o r understanding the agricultural development of this region. W a r , Peace, and Nonresistance. By Guy Franklin Hersh- berger. (The Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, 1944, pp. xv, 415. $2.50.) The history of nonresistance and t h e scriptural and doctrinal teachings upon which it is founded f o r m the sub- ject of this volume. I t s preparation was undertaken some years ago a s a commission from t h e Peace Problems Commit- tee of the Mennonite Church. Its purposes were t o clarify the position of the church from its beginning to the present war and to strengthen the members in maintaining t h a t position a s individuals. The author i s professor of history and sociology a t Goshen College, a Mennonite college at Goshen, Indiana. The work is significant to the historian as a n historical account of the Mennonites’ reaction against w a r from t h e sixteenth century to the present, and a s a resume of other important pacifist attitudes, but more especially as a means of understanding the Mennonites and their unique position in Indiana and in other states and nations. Some historical material is included in the f i r s t f o u r chapters which give the doctrinal basis of nonresistance. These chapters review “war in history,” “peace a n d w a r in the Old Testament,” “nonresistance in the New Testament,” and peace and war and the church. The Mennonites trace their origin to the Anabaptists in Switzerland in 1525. F r o m here they spread to Holland, Germany, France, and Russia, often fleeing from persecution. Those most interested in preserving the nonresident way of life came t o America, John D. Barnhart.