Because of economic changes, farmers wanted the US government to to fix their problems through currency changes. After slavery was abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation and the government focused on rebuilding America’s infrastructure, prices for many crops began to drop. Across the nation, farmers began to lose money. In addition, this drop in prices only applied to crops, and not to the other services like shipping and transportation, which remained high. Farmers continued to lose profits until 1892, when a depression sent many farmers into deep debt. Farmers expected the government to help them with their debts by using silver to back the US dollar. The abundance of silver would cause enough inflation to raise prices for crops. However, politicians did not directly respond to these requests. …show more content…
The industrialization of America led to lots of new technology for farming being developed, which further drove farmers into debt. New plows and tools were created and although they made farming significantly easier, they were also very expensive. Farmers were forced to buy these tools by their landlords and they struggled to find cheaper ways to compete with larger farms. Unlike farmers earlier in the century, these farmers did not grow many crops, even for sustenance. Instead, they grew only a couple cash crops, which could bring a lot of money, but also could bring in none if there was a drought or other problem. As the government ignored farmers and as their debts grew, farmers began no receive no reward for their works in the fields. Farmers found that unity would be the only way for them to overcome their challenges. However, as these challenges built up, many quit their jobs as farmers and moved to the northern cities and became factories
Moreover, the there was an expensive cost of transporting products to the grain elevators and cotton brokerages. More often then not, the farmers were ‘paying’ for others to eat while they themselves lost massive amounts of profits. Farmers also had surpluses in goods due to the increases in farm land and improved techniques. Farmers believed their problem was with
They began defaulting on these loans which wasn’t good for the farmers or the local banks. This was also a huge problem for America because American agriculture employed nearly 30 percent of the workforce in the United States. In his New Deal, Franklin D Roosevelt brought forth the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) which provided relief to farmers by paying them to reduce production. This was important because it helped reduce crop surpluses and give farmers a source of income. Meanwhile, in western Canada, farmers were experiencing a disastrous and prolonged drought, which caused nearly 250,000 people to leave the prairies in the 1930s.
They bought very few times from shopkeepers, and they bought only what they could pay for. But when farmers started borrowing money to buy machines, fertilizer, and land, they lost
A drought devastated the Midwest’s crops and without these crops they did not have the ability to pay debts accrued. The Southern farmers were also dealing with issues during this time from being crushed with the falling price of cotton who were also unable to pay their debts. With these occurring at the same time along with some technical advances this led these farmers to come together and organize their efforts in order to interject much needed change within the financial institutions. As a result of their combined efforts two organizations were formed; The Farmers Alliance and the Colored Farmers Alliance were
There were major rising wheat prices in the 1910s through 1920s and increased demand for wheat from Europe during World War I which encouraged farmers to plow up millions of acres of native grassland to plant wheat, corn and other row crops. But as the United States started to enter the Great Depression, wheat prices plummeted. Farmers tore up even more grassland in attempt to harvest a "bumper crop and break even." "Dust Bowl." History.com, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl.
Throughout history, the responsibilities of men have changed. Agriculture, for the most part, is and has been a male dominated profession. However, advances in technology have completely changed many of the tasks and responsibilities farming. The 1930’s was a difficult time for all people in the, but it was a devastating time for farmers.
In a time after the Civil War, when a transcontinental railroad was created connecting the East and West, people began to move and settle across the country, creating new urban cities and manufacturing hubs. It was because of the railroad that the Second Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age took place which rapidly increased the manufacturing of products through the new machines in factories and the spread of ideas by the telegraph and railroad. It was in this context that many farmers, as well, began to move West and experience a loss in the prices of their crops. It is also in this context that many workers were forced to work long, laborious hours with little pay. Farmers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age by forming organizations such as the Granger movement and the Farmers Alliance as well as creating the Populist Party.
The reason for why more farmers joined this movement was because the current economic conditions were unfavorable for them, for example, crops prices fell, railroads increased shipping fees, and Congress favoring paper money all devastated farmers through America in the late 19th century. The Grangers also tried to negotiate discounts and set up cash-only co-ops, which meant that they had to pay for the crops in cash. Also, the Grangers attacked railroads that were giving unfair rates for the farmer with their high rates, despite the fact that the railroads often give discounts to larger shippers. The movement was progressing at a steady rate due to a common goal of the Grangers, which was to help themselves in a time of desperation, but the movement ended as a failure due to the prices of crops being revived in 1878 it still laid a foundation for future agrarian
Most farmers struggled to make a living due to key issues. There was often a high tax on railroads which had cut a large profit from the farmers. The farmers had no other option other than the railroad since the farmers were often very far off westward in the Great Plains, while the market with a large population was still in eastern cities like New York. Likewise farmers had to pay a middle man in the East to sell their commodities in the East, because the poor farmers were unable to travel all the way to the East to sell their products then come back to start farming for the next year. Surprisingly, farmers were often detrimental to themselves due to
The new prosperity, technology and glamour America boasted was only promised to the upper class and urban workers; “There was real prosperity in certain pockets of the economy in the 1920s,” as Historian David Kennedy put it. The agricultural sector were especially struggling the most during this decade prior to the market crash. During World War I, American farms were subsidized by the government to expand and mechanize in order to keep up with providing food for the army. After the War, low demands and over-production
A small ice age affected the farming season creating food shortages. () After several famines the population was reduced. In result the price of bread increased and peasants rioted in anger. () Peasants would steal bread and sell it at the price they felt was appropriate and attacked convoys carrying grains.
You can pay back tomorrow,” Walter shook his head. “Nome thank you ma’am,” he drawled softly.” (page 25). The farmers had it the worst during the great depression, with virtually no money the farmers do what little they can. Farmers today are still having trouble today, some get shut down for lack of product some don 't get with the times and are forcefully shut down.
After the Civil War many problems arose. For farmers- shipping rates, freight rates, silo prices, and interest rates all skyrocketed. Many businessmen, such as middlemen, would try to take advantage of the farmers needs to mooch more money off of them. All of these issues caused the Farmer’s Alliance to form. The farmers that were participating in the alliance were being directly affected by the rise in rates and prices.
Especially in the south, were many plantation owners lost their workforce. They would now either be forced to pay their laborers or sell their farms, neither of which they were partial to. Out of this came sharecropping, where landowners gave laborers a house, and land, in exchange for a share of their crops. However this system had many issues, the laborers were almost always African Americans with no savings to buy tools, which they would need to buy from the landowners, putting them in debt, and making it difficult for them to become independent. Another result of the end of the war was the Depression of 1873, which raised the unemployment rate to 15% and created greater tensions among the working class in the United States.