Quality of life before tractors was way, way less than today. During WW2, the Japanese would take several weeks to make an airfield, using a large labor force

Quality of life before tractors was way, way less than today. During WW2, the Japanese would take several weeks to make an airfield, using a large labor force with picks and shovels. They were horrified when the SeeBees showed up with bulldozers making forward airbases operational within hours.