Agricultural Information and Empire Building in the Late 19th Century:National Information Policy, the People, and the USDA

摘要

The information work of the United States Department ofAgriculture in its first years as an independent federalagency—1862 to 1888—was exceptional and contested. Itengaged the public to collect information relevant tofarming, markets, and trade. Through a close historicalanalysis of the Department’s annual reports andsupplementary materials, I examine that information workand situate it within the context of the emergence of themodern state, American empire, and industrializingcapitalism using Marxist historiography and the politicaleconomy of information as my conceptual framework.