In the late nineteenth century, twenty years after the Homestead Act, farmers used their land in the western plains to produce both crops and profits. The farmers of this time struggled in the agricultural way of life by facing economic and political obstacles that were impossible to avoid, requiring them to do something about their complaints. Although the farmers had plausible arguments for most of their criticisms, their beliefs of the silver standard and overproduction sometimes could not be backed up. However, farmers continued to struggle between inevitable issues like the currency debate, constant debt and rising costs.…
Ever wondered how farmers lived in the 19th century? The government passed laws that favored the wealthy.Technology was making vast strides but mainly in urban manufacturing. The technological advancements that were made available were sold to the farmers at ludicrous prices. Economically, the prices of agriculture was declining and as a result, farmers often lived in poor conditions. But, farmers not were represented in government, urban industry and big business overpowered farmers. So to what degree was the lives of farmers affected? Their situation is similar to the African Americans in the 20th century. Though events such as the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and Trail of Tears benefited the farmers…
In the time of the late nineteenth century, the telecommunication revolution, or globalization, was beginning to make its start in American history. Communication and transportation was becoming faster with the new advances in the technological world. This made large businesses grow, creating large fortunes from the new railroad business However, the farmers if America took a hard hit ti these advances. Food prices were decreasing, and farmers were producing more crops than the economy could consume. Because if the changes in economy, the farmers had grown in discontent with the government, and the fingers were being pointed at the large scale business leaders. In the late nineteenth century, the farmers had a valid reason that big businesses were decreasing away the profits of their work, and into the railroad companies and that banks were taking advantage of the farmers, causing the great agrarian discontent.…
Before the 1890s the Industrial Revolution caused a huge boom that left the agriculture industry in the dust. With the expansion of railroads linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as to all points across America, the rise of the Industrial Empire, and the continuing debate about using silver as the national coinage standard of America. The depression of the 1890s was partly caused by the flooding of silver. Over supply and lesser demand also resulted in a drop of prices, job cuts and bankruptcy. Economic depression dominated the 1890s and helped to reshape the political alignments and attitudes of the era. Due to the devastating economic depression, thousands of people had no money and very little hope, which caused for widespread mistrust of elected leaders.…
The depression was a time of uncertainty, sorrow and pain. As a result, the farming industry was a very low point during the depression. People’s lives in farming were greatly influenced by the depression. Many people who were involved in farming were affected by the climate and economic instability causing many people to move to the cities.…
During this time period, the large businesses were greatly influencing America politically, socially and economically. It was the large companies that were making all the money while farmers found themselves in poverty due to the overproduction of products. The farmers thought that government should produce more money by adding silver to the Gold Standard. By creating this inflation, there would be a more economic balance between the farmers and large companies. The people in the cities of course did not favor changing the Gold Standard because then they would lose power because the value of their money would go down (Document J). As a result of the industrialization in America, there was an increase in economics because of smart business people like Rockefeller and Carnegie that was able to use their knowledge to increase wealth in the nation. Farmers were being left behind in this economic advancement because they were no longer the primary economic influence in America. As a result of farmers getting into more and more debt, it led to the crop-lien system and sharecropping (Document E). The crop-lien system allowed farmers to gain credit before the planting season by borrowing from merchants the anticipated value of their harvest. The economic conditions were hard on the farmers due to the freight rates and high land prices. A radical supporter of the agricultural movement, Mary…
A combination of worsened economic conditions, new technology and unfortunate government policy made the lives of farmers significantly more difficult in the second half of the nineteenth century. Increased global competition, the beginning of the national market, and increased domestic production caused the price of goods to drop dramatically. In the late 1800s people were encouraged to move west and start farms, and were given loans by banks and the government to do so. This led to a large increase in the amount of goods produced. By 1900, the amount of cotton produced was almost five times that produced in 1865, and the amount of wheat and corn near doubled (Source A).…
The Populist Party grew out of the agrarian revolt that rose after the collapse of agriculture prices following the Panic of 1873. The Farmers' Alliance, formed in Lampasas, Texas in 1876, promoted collective economic action by farmers and achieved widespread popularity in the South and Great Plains. The Farmers' Alliance was ultimately unable to achieve its wider economic goal of collective economic action against brokers, railroads, and merchants, and many in the…
The glorious “American dream” is arguably the number one cause of settlers expanding westward. As immigrants began flooding the streets of America, the ability to house and feed the mass population became problematic. Jobs were becoming heavily occupied, and new opportunities arose with the word of heaps of Californian gold. In order to assemble a simpler transportation method, railroads overall replaced horseback and wagon traveling.…
Regional interest guided the move to the west, with the people looking for more room or a better more beneficial beginning. The economy has most of the time played a enormous part in the history of the United States, with the move to the west individuals had more opportunity of gaining wealth. On the other hand the westward expansions relation to the north and south was more rocky to begin with since both regions had different viewpoints on the move, the west could either benefit or harm one of the regions. The westward expansion, was the start of a new life for the individuals and each factor played a huge role on encouraging individuals to move and start a new life on a unknown territory, that would become a piece of the puzzle for the United States increase in…
After the civil war the west continued to expand. The homestead act and transcontinental railroad led to the growth of towns and cities as well as farming and the cattle industry. Farmers faced problems and organized the farmers alliance the largest citizens movement of the nineteenth century farmers sought to remedy their situation, it was founded in texas in the late 1870’s, the alliance spread to forty-three stats by 1890. The alliance proposed that the federal government establish warehouses where farmers could store their crops until they were sold. Using the crops as collateral, the government would then issue loans to farmers at low interest rates, thereby ending their dependence on bankers and merchants. Since it would have to be enacted by congress, the subtreasurey plan as this proposal was called, led the alliance into politics. In the early 1890’s the alliance evolved to the peoples part also known as the populists, the populist platform proposed many changes in election, tax, and economic policy. A desire to counter deflation and increase the money supply called for ‘free silver’ to back to dollar.…
In the late 1800s, many farmers were trapped in a vicious economic cycle. Crops prices began falling and farmers were often forced into mortgaging their farms so they could buy more land and produce more crops to break even. Good farming land was becoming rare and the banks took over the mortgages of farmers who couldn't make payments on their loans. The railroads, on the other end, took advantage of farmers by charging them extreme prices for shipping and storage. Both equally frustrating the farmer, who pretty much resembled a larger economic problem because if he wasn't doing well then the whole nation can’t do well either.…
Before the Civil War, the people who migrated west were mostly trappers seeking the rich furs of Oregon, miners in search of gold and silver, and those seeking freedom from religious persecution such as the Mormons. There were many other smaller groups such as a few farmers seeking more farmland, Irish immigrants seeking employment, etc. After the Civil War, Congress passed three major bills which spurred the largest migration west ever within the United States. Most of the people of this migration were made of farmers or people who wanted to become farmers. The Homestead Act lured many landless farmers from the East to travel west in hopes of acquiring their own plots of land to build a life. One group was the freed slaves. They were hoping to escape the poverty and violence of the South to start their newly freed lives. Although there were some who stayed and farmed, many more were unsuccessful. They settled on poor land, and they lacked the finances to establish the profitable farms. They ended up either moving on, or returning to the South. Another group who moved west were native-born whites from the East and Midwest. This group not only consisted of males, but also single women looking for larger plots of land to farm. Not all who migrated west were looking to farm. Some came in search of work on the railroad or in the mining industry.…
The production of crops is measured by distribution and profit. The blacks depended on the land as their source of wealth and income. Many of the blacks worked on the farmland to maintain their livelihood. The aims of the farmers who participated in these movements was to have immediate change through political means. They were not satisfied with the deflation in the economy and the high tariffs. The price for transporting food and goods was high and they wanted political reform. The farmers established the Farmer’s Alliance. They were growing large amounts of wheat and selling it for a high profit. However, in the 1890's the global economy was affected and resulted in having to sell their crops at a low price. The production of wheat was high and this caused s deflation in the economy. Farmers were forced to mortgage their property and lost their land. The farmers felt that the government was not making any decisions in their favor to help with the economic deflation. The government raised prices on the railroad companies and left the farmers with no choice other than to pay the high freight rates. The farmers used the railroads to transport their foods and goods to the markets. Farmers felt that the economy should be a free economy and there should be no government intervention. However, it was time that…
Documents A-H reveal some of the problems that many farmers in the late nineteenth century(1880-1900)saw as threats to their way of life.(a)explain the reasons for agrarian discontent and(b)evaluate the validity of the farmers' complaints.…