Ryan’s group
During the post Civil War period American migration westward increased
dramatically. The Indian populated West was broken and striped with the new
technological development of the transcontinental railroad. Pioneering farmers, lured by
the promise of land and pushed from the overpopulation of the eastern cities, settled the
Indian wilderness. Thus, the status of the American farmer and of American agriculture
changed from this westward migration. Technological innovations made this settlement
of farmers and expansion of agriculture possible. The sudden growth of American
agriculture created an overproduction of crop products, which in turn caused the price of
crops to deflate. This economic havoc burdened the American farmer for much of the
late nineteenth century. This burden on the farmer led to the unification of farmers and
the increased role of the plain farmers in government. The People’s Party formed and
gained national popularity to aid the farmers. Thusly the American farmer and American
agriculture were changed with innovative technology, a deflating and burdened
economy, and an increased role in participation of farmers in government and politics
that aimed to specifically aid the farmer.
New technology produced during 1865 to 1900 played a large role in the life of
farmers and had completely transformed American agriculture itself. Technology
allowed the west to be settled and farmed. New technologies gave the farmer the
opportunity to produce more crops than they had ever been capable of previously.
American farmers began to farm large regions of necessary crops such as wheat,
cotton, and corn. By 1880 farmers could use combines pulled by fifteen to twenty
horses across a large field of wheat and harvest more of the crop.. Farm work had been
changed from hand power to horse power. (Doc. D) Due to technology the bushels of
products being produced reached to new heights. In the year 1870, 254 million bushels
of wheat were produced and in 1900, 599 million bushels of wheat were produced.
(Doc. A) American agriculture outgrew the simple walking plow. With the advent of the
sulky and gang plows, a farmer could accomplish far more behind a team of horses. In
1868 and 1869, steam tractors were tried out and a spring-tooth harrow for seedbed
preparation was created. In 1870 silos and deep-well drilling came into use. Then in
1874 the Glidden barbed wire was patented. This was used to fence fields in order to
keep cattle from grazing on them. Farmers were also using technology such as the
combine harvester, cream separators, and the use of commercial fertilizer. The
innovation of irrigation during this time period allowed for well watered, healthier crops.
Technology favored bigger farms. Most of the technology was both expensive and
needed large spaces to work effectively. Farming began to become large scale because
technology made large farms more competitive than small farms. Farmers in the west
began to collect their goods and needed a way to transport their goods across the
states. The advent of the railroad had an enormous influence on agriculture. In 1870
there were masses of existing railroads in the East and only the Union Pacific and
Central Pacific railroad stretching across the West. The amount of existing railroads
increased dramatically by 1890. (Doc. B) Railroads were sprawling across the entire
country. With this increase of railroads America saw an increase in settlement. This
increase in settlement meant also a huge increase of farms. The change in agriculture
was a result of the creation of railroads and all of the changes would not have been
formed without it. Railroads charged the farmers large dues, expenses that farmers
barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive
country. The innovation of the refrigerated train car allowed farmers to sell the meat of
livestock such as cattle. All of the technology used to improve American agriculture led
to many problems including overproduction of crops. Farmers had many responses to
these problems. A woman named Mary Elizabeth Lease who had many successful
farming ventures, had an involvement in the growing revolt of Kansas farmers against
high mortgage interest and railroad rates. Her involvement had placed her in the lead of
the People's (Populist) Party. Lease had advised farmers to “"raise less corn and more
hell.” (Doc. G)
During the time period of 1865 to 1900 the United States’ economy was
undergoing a major overhaul in the way that agriculture was practiced. Although
production of crops was at an all-time high, often too high, deflation was very apparent
in the costs of certain crops as the years progressed. (Doc. A) According to Mary
Elizabeth Lease, the government had requested a large harvest in order to sustain life
in the west. After these large amounts of crops were harvested the outcome was not
what western farmers had expected. The price of crops had decreased by a large
amount due to overproduction and in turn, deflation. (Doc. G) Overproduction had
become a problem not only with crops, but also with cattle and beef. The city of Chicago
was able to process and ship a total of 400,000 cattle per year. Approximately
2,500,000 cattle were being brought to the city, which totaled almost 2.1 million cattle
were unable to be processed in Chicago. (Doc. F) Due to the rapid rate of deflation of
western crops, many farmers in this area for forced to resort to share cropping in order
to survive. Farmers were rarely able to prosper through the use of this system. (Doc. E)
In response the low costs and profits made from farms in the west, the Populist
Movement was created to improve conditions for struggling farmers in the west. The
introduction of money backed by silver instead of gold was very strongly supported by
populists A member of the populists that quickly became a leader was William Jennings
Bryan. Bryan expresses how strongly he supports the backing of money with silver in
his “Cross of Gold” speech. He explains that gold-backed money may be sufficient in
eastern cities, but it is slowly killing western farmers and their ability to remain in the
west. Bryan is positive that western farmers are ready to fight in order to achieve their
goal of cheaper money backed by silver. (Doc. J) The western economy throughout
1865 to 1900 was not to the level that many residents and farmers that lived here had
worked for. Overproduction and deflation of produced crops crippled any chances of
economic advancements in the west.
The power of government went through tremendous changes in its foundation in
the second half of the nineteenth century. The power of government was taken by the
grasping hand of the belittled and helpless American farmer. With the success of the
unification of farmers, the policies of the government thusly changed to address the
multiple issues that burdened the American farmer. A prominent issue in the beginnings
of the time period was the railroad. The railroad was needed by farmers as a means of
transportation for crops. Because the transcontinental rails in the 1860s and 1870s were
few, the owners of the railroads could form a trust, or agreement, to keep rates high
(Document B). This led to the beginnings of farmers’ involvement with politics. Farmers
of the West who relied on the railroads called upon state governments for regulation.
The Munn v. Illinois Supreme Court case upheld the laws of the Illinois legislature and
said that the state had the right to regulate any private business that served the public—
such as the railroads (Document C). However, farmers were somewhat stripped of this
state government win in the Wabash case, when it was upheld that state governments
couldn’t regulate railroads that went into other states, because they couldn’t regulate
interstate commerce. Other problems plagued the American farmer in the 1880s and
1890s. These would eventually lead to the farmers’ unification in politics. This traced its
roots in the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a popular social club
or fraternity among Western farmers. This unification of farmers led to the Farmer’s
Alliance organization, which sought to end the problems that plighted the American
farmer. This in turn led ultimately to the People’s Party (the Populist Party). Launched in
Omaha in 1892, the party aided farmers through politics, and gained national popularity.
The problems that united the farmers in government centered around deflation of crop
prices from overproduction (Document A). This enraged farmers, who felt that the
government had encouraged this because they encouraged the settling of the West
(Document G). The federal government did indeed play the largest role in developing
the far West. While this was the main issue that caused farmers to unite, other smaller
issues were impetuses as well. Farmers living on the frontier advocated for the ending
of the reservation system for Native Americans. The difference in cultures led white
farmers to view Indians as “lazy paupers” without rights to the good farmlands of the
trans-Mississippi West (Document I). Some farmers desperately wanted more land. The
Homestead Act of 1862 gave westward moving farmers 160 acres of land for a minimal
cost of $30, so long as they stayed on the land for five years. This was a promotion by
the government to get farmers to settle the West. However, the semiarid climate made
living off of only 160 acres a challenge (Document H). Drought often caused crops to
fail, and farmers on the small settlements blamed the government's encouragement of
their settlement for their misfortune. To relieve farmers of the burdens that the late
nineteenth century brought them, the Populists made the free and unlimited coinage of
silver a platform issue. By coining silver, the value of US currency would deflate, and
the prices of farmers’ crops would increase in value. This issue later was taken on by a
majority of the Democratic Party in the election of 1896. The two parties combined on
the issue, and the Democrats’ nominee, William Jennings Bryan, made a passionate
and poignant speech for the coinage of silver. The plight of the farmer was now grasped
as an issue of one of America’s largest political parties. Bryan elloquated that the “Cross
of Gold”, that is the burden of backing US currency in more precious gold, would no
longer be borne by the farmers (Document J). A major voice thusly stepped onto the
national stage to defend the farmers’ political concerns. This proved undoubtedly the
newfound power of government that farmers grasped in their burdened hands.
In the period of 1865 to 1900, technology, economic conditions, and government
dramatically changed American agriculture. The innovations of farming technology, in
combination with the advent of the transcontinental railroad, served as an impetus to the
expansion American agriculture. The overproduction of American farming crops led to a
deflation of crop sale prices, and the economic conditions generally burdened farmers.
The burdens of the overproducing economy forced farmers to unite and play a larger
role in democratic government.