I can only refer you to a person who specializes in digging up answers to this very sort of query... dog tax, fencing laws (enacted prior to 1800, by the way) and how the planter class played an integral part. Dr. Nancy Bercaw of Oberlin College is one of the most foremost authorities on the matter. Her e-mail address is nbercaw@olemiss.edu. I hope that she can provide a more tangible resource for you. As I said, it was all politics and nothing else, possibly aside from paultry revenue for the state or raw materials collection.