Gilded Age

During the Gilded Age, there was a large boom in industrialization. This affected upper class American in a more positive manner than it did for the farmers and workers on the bottom of America’s totem pole. Although the Industrialists became rich during the Gilded Age, the farmers felt the oncoming of the Panic of 1893 start while the upper class men were making money. The discontent that effected the farmers was widespread. Throughout the 1880s-1900s, farmers were distraught by the many hardships of their lives which led to the downfalls throughout the era. The farmers thought that their way of life was being threatened, which caused great discontent, and they had a valid reason to complain. Each year, the economic situation for the farmers became more and more grim. The farmers became increasingly desperate. Before, farmers were making only enough food to support and feed their family. The hard times that they were facing forced the farmers to make the transition to cash crops; farmers raising crops in large quantities and selling their crops on a national level. During this time period, there were many laws passed by the government to help farmers. As there was a change in population made Americans and even Europeans more dependent on farmers for food sources. New machines helped farmers produce more crops with less man power. Congress passed the Hatch Act, which gave the United States its network of agricultural experiment stations. The Department of Agriculture was created in 1889.
These actions by the government were not enough. Farmers had the biggest problem with the railroads. The railroad companies did not publish their rates and charged discriminatory prices. Farmers who need to send their goods more distance ended up paying less than farmers who were shipping their goods long distances. Railroads charged high prices for farmers to keep their crops in grain