Barn raising: Encyclopedia II - Barn raising - Social framework

Barn raising - Social framework

In earlier American rural life, communities raised barns because many hands were required. In areas that were sparsely settled or on the edge of the frontier, it was not possible to hire carpenters or other tradesmen to build a barn. The harsher winters gave more urgency to the matter of barn construction than was present in the relatively milder climate in Europe. Similar conditions have given rise to alike institutions, such as the Finnish one of 'talkoot'.

Barn raisings occurred in a social framework with a good deal of interdependence. Members of rural communities often shared family bonds going back generations. They traded with each other, buying and selling land, labor, seed, cattle, and the like. They worshiped together. They celebrated together, because cities were too far away to visit with any frequency on horseback. Despite traditions of independence, self-sufficiency, and refusal to incur a debt to another, barn raisings with the free labor in return for a nebulous future commitment were necessary.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Social framework", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki