For much if it’s existence, the ideal of America was a democratic society based on the ownership of land by small farmers. One of the important obstacles to that ideal was the feudal tenant system that existed in most of New York’s Hudson River Valley. A product of Dutch settlement that was reinforced and expanded by later British rule, this anachronistic feudal land system survived well into the 19th century. It led to this country’s only “peasant” revolt, known to history as the Anti-Rent Wars. The large migration to Michigan from New York in the 19th century included many farmers from the “anti-rent” counties of the Empire State.
Jim Craft has a bachelor’s in History from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and a master’s in history from Wayne State University in Detroit. After teaching history for 13 years, he moved into corporate America for the balance of his career. Since 1995, he has been active in various historical projects: writing, researching, developing curriculum material, doing curatorial work and lecturing.
A frequent presenter in southeastern Michigan, he is currently writing a series of short history books. These primarily focus on important, although underappreciated, aspects of American History, but doing so from a local perspective. While Craft’s primary expertise is in the 19th century, his interests are broad. The Normandy Campaign is one of those many areas of interests. In addition to extensive research on all aspects of the campaign, he has visited Normandy on six occasions to explore the far-flung combat areas. He has been a member of the Oakland County (Michigan) Historical Commission since 2008.
