The period of 1865 to 1900 was characterized by repeated economic booms and panics. Government policy towards the coinage of silver and railroad regulations helped and hindered agriculture’s ability to prosper; technology, such as railroads, helped transport goods to the eastern markets, wheat-threshers helped produce more crops, and farming was diversified; economic booms and panics, and the want for silver largely affected the prices of farmer’s goods.
After the Civil War, the South’s economy mainly consisted of growing cotton. The South was the poorest part of America which can be attributed to their late industrialization and workers who were not well educated. Due to the fact that between 1865 to 1900 the number of bushels of cotton increased, farmers suffered because more cotton on the market contributed to falling cotton prices (DOC A). Many farmers even lost their farms. A few farmers in the South decided that to try to save their farms they would try to plant crops other than cotton. One of the most famous of these farmers was George Washington Carver. He was an African-American scientist and he encouraged farmers to grow peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans; thanks to Carver the south’s farming industry became greatly diversified.
Cotton was not the crop price that suffered. Due to the increased global competition prices for wheat and other crops were pushed down as well. Political speakers told the farmers to grow more crops, but when they did the prices only dropped (Doc G). The price of corn decreased from 1865 to 1885, and the price of wheat fell from 1865 to 1885 (DOC A). Static money in America also deflated the prices. When the prices were falling farmers were still trying to pay off mortgages, therefore they...
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...e to anyone. The creation of railroads in Kansas allowed cattle to be transferred to the markets. Two and a half million cattle were being marketed in Chicago (Doc. F). Since they could get free cattle and sell them for $30 to $50 dollars per cow, the business was extremely profitable.
The Populist party seemed to be the perfect party for farmers. They advocated unlimited coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, public ownership of railroads by the United State’s government, and loans and federal warehouses to stabilize prices for crops.
Overall, Government policy concerning the coinage of silver railroads affected agriculture as did the new technology such as railroads, and wheat-threshers, and the coinage of silver heavily affected the prosperity of agriculture. Farmers had become a minority in society, and they had to fight against the industry to survive.
The changes in American agriculture was molded by three key factors, economic change, government policy and technology, in the period of 1865-1900.Technology helped facilitated production of good as well as their transportation. Farmers were able to produce more goods, yet they overproduced and it resulted in economic hardship for them. They could not afford to export goods through the rail roads high rates, and led to clashing with the government, for the lack of support. Such factors resulted in change of American agriculture.
From 1865 to 1900, production of crops increased, and prices dropped. (Document A) These crops were shipped east, where they were eaten and exported to other countries. This was due to technology, but government policy caused economic conditions in the west barely improved as a result. In fact, despite the success many farmers experienced, many in the west still struggled to put food on the table.
Farmers everywhere in the United States during the late nineteenth century had valid reasons to complaint against the economy because the farmers were constantly being taken advantage of by the railroad companies and banks. All farmers faced similar problems and for one thing, farmers were starting to become a minority within the American society. In the late nineteenth century, industrialization was in the spotlight creating big businesses and capitals. The success of industrialization put agriculture and farmers on the down low, allowing the corporations to overtake the farmers. Since the government itself; such as the Republican Party was also pro-business during this time, they could have cared less about the farmers.
The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.
Republicans claimed that their policies of tariffs encouraged “home industry.” This was supposed to secure “the American market for the American producer…” (Reading 7). The Populist platform had a few similarities to the Republican platform. One of which was the concern for foreign control inside the country. They believed land inside the U.S. should be owned by citizens or the government, not by aliens. This was mostly to give the farmers more control and a deal them a better hand, which was what made the ideal different from the
American farmers found themselves facing hard times after the Civil War. In the West, the railroad had opened up enormous opportunities. Farmers were now able to cultivate land that had previously been to far from the Eastern markets to make a profit. However, that opportunity came at a price. The farmers increasing dependence on the railroads and other commercial interests made them an easy target for exploitative business practices.
... could easily and (more importantly) quickly move from farms to cities to be sold. Even livestock could be carried by freight to reach markets across the country.
The Southern agriculture was reconfigured in the wake of the Reconstruction by sharecropping and the crop-lien system. Sharecropping was a system they used after the Civil War where a landlord allows african americans to work his land in exchange for some of the crop. Sharecroppers were to have half of what they grew if all the conditions were followed, but if they were not, then they would have two-fifths of what they grew. They were not able to work their own land if there was work to be done one their landlord’s land. The sharecropping system existed because the white plantation workers wanted to bring back a system like slavery, where african americans would work for them for very little pay. The cotton agriculture changed because
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
Farmers united to protect their interests, even creating a major political party. The party was called the peoples party which became known as the populist party. Populists drew its strength from rural areas. Populists tended to be poor and uneducated. They had ideas such as government ownership of major industries. The Populists supported labors demand for an eight hour work day. The most controversial Populist demand concerned the money supply. Farmers being both sellers and debtors, saw inflation as a way to improve their standard of living, but they wanted to expand the money supply. Farmers convinced the government to use silver as well as gold to back the money supply. The congress passed the Bland-Allison Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase. Populist platform urged congress to authorize free and unlimited minting of silver. The Populists were united in favoring the minting of silver to expand the money supply. Democrats agreed with the Populist, but most Republicans favored the gold standard and a smaller money supply. Democrats agreed on a presidential candidate that was with the mint silver, wh...
Between 1865 and 1900 technology, economic conditions, and government policy influenced American Agriculture greater than it ever had before. Technologically, Railroads, factories, and farm equipment changed American agriculture by allowing the production of farmed goods to be increased substantially, while economic conditions caused the prices of these goods to go down and then fluctuate. Farmers hurting from the economic disarray began influencing the laws being passed to help them in their economic troubles. Because of the influence of technology, government policy, and economic conditions between the 1865 and 1900 American agriculture was affected.
The farmers feared that Eastern industrialists and bankers were gaining too much influence, power and control over the government. During the “bust” cycle, and times of difficulties, farmers got together, talked about their problems and formed the Populist Party. The Populists were formed because of challenges and difficulties in which they were forced to deal with every day. These challenges included crop failures, falling prices, and the inability to pay loans. The Populists party called for reform by wanting the government to intervene and lessen the impact of economic depressions, regu...
Farmers were burned out rapidly from declining farm prices, high tariffs on items they need to purchase, and foreign competition. Farmers also faced overproduction when their products in the market drove the price lower and lower. Farmers were paying inflated prices but not receiving money. Gold v Silver as basis of U.S currency poured real difficulties for farmers. In 1890 several organizations made a national alliance that had 2.5 million members participating 1.5 million individuals were white and 1 million were black. All these organizations wanted regulation of railroad prices and the creation of an inflationary national monetary policy. Wanted a sub treasury plan, plan that the federal government would store famers crops in government warehouses for a period of time and provide loans to farmers worth 80% of current crop prices. The plan would also give government officials control over railroads, end bank system, creation of federal income tax, direct elections of U.S senators, more proactive government that would support economic and social welfare of all Americans. (US History 1700
From the expanding of railroads country wide, to limiting laws on the goods farmers sold and transportation of the goods,to starvation of the economy, agriculture began to take its own shape from 1865 through to 1900 in the United States.
Most of the reasons concerning agrarian discontent in the late nineteenth century stem from supposed threats posed by monopolies and trusts, railroads, money shortages and the demonetization of silver, though in many cases their complaints were not valid. The American farmer at this time already had his fair share of problems, perhaps even perceived as unfair in regards to the success industrialized businessmen were experiencing. Nevertheless, crops such as cotton and wheat, which were once the staples of an agricultural society, were selling at such low prices that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them, especially since some had invested a great deal of money in modern equipment that would allow them to produce twice as many goods. Furthermore, improvements in transportation allowed foreign competition to emerge, making it harder for American Farmers to not only dispose of surplus crop, but to transport crops period. Finally, years of drought in the Midwest and the degeneration of business in the 1890's devastated many of the nation's farmers, and as a result of this agricultural depression' many farm groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what farmers saw as the reasons for the decline of agriculture.