During the early years of the United States, agriculture swept across the nation in

small family farms or, during the years of slavery, large plantations dedicated to the rapid
output of cash crops to sell on the global market. Plantations popped up all across the
southern United States, creating an intensive belt of agriculture, made possible by the
labor of slaves. The development of plantation agriculture in the American South led to
the widespread alteration of the natural environment, and in turn clarified later settlement
patterns and rural land use through the cultural landscape.
Louisiana, one of the main Southern plantation states, is where my grandparents
live, so often I am able to visit Louisiana, driving past massive sugar can farms and
remnants of old plantation houses. Once, my cousins and I paid a visit to the Oak Alley
Plantation, one of the giant plantations of the area, housing hundreds of slaves on the lot.
These past agricultural escapades still remain prominent in the cultural landscape of
Louisiana, and led to the clearing of many forests and filling of many swamps to
accommodate for such expansive farmlands. The natural environment declined through
this deforestation and filling in of marshes, and is still visible today, proving that the
damage these plantations had on the environment cannot be done quickly. Also, the
prominence of plantations during the age of slavery led to numerous tourist attractions
across Louisiana and neighboring states. Distributed across the landscape, plantations
remain a busy and common place to visit throughout the state.
Likewise, the settlement patterns and rural development as a result of plantations
are reflected in the cultural landscape of Louisiana. After slavery was abolished, many of
the former slaves stayed in their local states rather than migrating further into the
northern United States. Therefore, a lot of neighborhoods within Louisiana have high

concentrations of African-Americans, with ties back to the slave trade originating in

Africa during the 19th century. Also, after the disintegration of slavery, plantations
collapsed, but the fields remained and were still worked by the former slaves, now
laboring as indentured servants or sharecroppers. Large expanses of fields remain,
outstretched across Louisiana, but are no longer a part of the previous plantation system.
Therefore, the plantation system influenced the settlements patterns as an influx of
Africans came into the United States as slaves, and remained after they received their
freedom, and the disintegration of plantation houses into regular agricultural fields.
All in all, the plantation had an immense impact on the current landscape of the
southern states, as I observed in the state of Louisiana. The development of this type of
agricultural impacted the natural environment, resulting in the destruction of many
ecosystems through deforestation and destruction of swamps. Also, the settlement
patterns and rural development as a result of plantation agriculture is reflected in the
cultural landscape of Louisiana by the concentration of African Americans, as a result of
the former slave trade, and the expanse of fields that used to be a part of the plantation
system. Through plantation agriculture, the natural environment disintegrated, while
patterns of settlement and rural development adapted to the adoption of plantation
agriculture.