填空题

One of the most popular myths about the United States in the 19th century was that of the free and simple life of the farmer. It was said that farmers were tied to their own (36) to produce what-ever their families needed. They might sometimes (37) with neighbours, but in general, they could get along just fine by relying on themselves, not on (38) ties with others. This is how Thomas Jefferson (39) the farmer at the beginning of the 19th century, and at that time this may have been close to the truth, (40) on the frontier. But by the mid-century, sweeping changes in (41) were well under way as farmers began to (42) in the raising of crops such as cotton or corn or wheat. By late in the century, (43) advances in farm machinery had vastly increased production of specialized crops, and (44) .By raising and selling specialized crops, farmers could afford more and finer goods, and achieve a much higher standard of living, but at a price. (45) .Their lives were increasingly controlled by banks, which had power to grant or deny loans for new machinery and by the railroads, which set the rates for shipping their crops to market. (46) , for example, the price of wheat in Kansas. And so, by the end of 19th century, the era of Jefferson’s independent farmer had come to a close.