# yeoman freedom

Informal title given to the concept that came from [[Jeffersonian democracy]], but was not exactly synonymous.

A [[yeoman]] was a small-time farmer, who was usually self-sufficient. Many of the early citizens of the [[United States]] were yeomans.

Yeoman freedom was the idea that individuals within the United States were like yeoman: they were completely self-sufficient, and they wanted a government that would respect that way of life. [[Thomas Jefferson]] was a proponent of such a philosophy, and indeed yeoman farmers were his base.

The essence of freedom for Jefferson was independence.

Yeomanism died out even before the [[United States Civil War]], but the concept is still with us even today. The proliferation of [[capitalism]] put an end to such a way of life.