Agriculture, Business & Politics of the Late 19th Century
Agriculture
 The Plight of the Farmer
 Over production – producing more than the “World” needs
 More land being farmed, better soil than before, better technology
 Result: decrease in demand, leads to falling prices
 Farmers don’t stop: continue to buy more land, equip, etc.
 Problem: borrow $ to do so, debt increases, income remains
the same.
 Disaster hits
 Plague (1874)
 Drought (1886)
 Banks call in loans
 Farms foreclosed upon
 “In God We Trusted, In Kansas We Busted”
 Farmers become Ranchers
 With the loss of Buffalo, Cattle became the staple of the GP
 Demand grows due to the R.R. & Growth of Cities
 The Cattle Town
 Chisholm Trail - drives cattle from San Antonio, TX to Abilene, KS
 Abilene connects to Chicago
 Chicago to Eastern cities
 Cowboys learn from Vaqueros
 Spanish had brought both the Cow and Horse here in the 1500s
 55,000 worked as Cowboys
 Majority white, but 25% black, 10% Hispanic
 As young as 15 as old 40
 10-14 hr days
 Spring round-up to 3-month “long-drive”
o 1 cowboy to 250 cattle
 Owned a saddle, but not usually the horse
 Short-lived
 Overgrazing, bad weather, and the invention of barbed wire ends
“Open Range” era
Business
 National Economics
 Economics: the study of how people use goods and services to satisfy
their needs and wants
 Chain Stores: sold, repaired farm equipment (along with other products)
 McCormick Harvesting Company (1847) – would become
International Harvester in 1902
 Deere & Company (1868)
 Steel plow-wagon-planters-cultivators
 Retail Stores: warehouse of consumer goods
 Marshall Field’s (Chicago - 1852), Macy’s (NYC - 1858), Great
Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (1859)
 Introduce charge accounts, customer service dept, door-to-door
salesmen & advertising
 Railroads Play Important Role
 Refrigerated RR cars spur the growth of meat “packing” industry
 Swift & Company (1878) sending meat from Chicago to San
Francisco & New York City
 George Pullman
 Creates the Pullman “Sleeper” RR car
 Gains national attention when Pres. Lincoln’s dead body is
transported from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, IL on a
Pullman Car (1865)
 By 1880 Pullman cars in such high demand that a town is built for
employees - Pullman, IL
 Provided all necessities for employees: housing, medical care,
social activities
 Claims of restricted freedoms: assembly, choice – alcohol
 Pullman Strike (1894) results in annexation of Pullman into
Chicago
 Magnates & Robber Barrons
 Def: an individual who has immense power and influence over a
particular industry; whose business practices are often questionable
 Ex: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
& John D. Rockefeller
 Union Pacific uses profits to buy their influence in Congress
 James Garfield, later Pres, when in Congress took RR $$$
 Republican Party embarrassed by the $$$
Politics
 Problems with RR
 Misuse of gov’t land grants
 Suppose to sell their land to settlers, were selling their land to
businesses
 Fixed prices because they controlled the transportation
 Charged different customers different rates: rural v. urban locations
 Action taken
 States in Munn v. Illinois allowed to regulate RR
 Congress passes Interstate Commerce Act (1887) to overrule Munn
 Def: est. Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and declared
the fed gov’t had sole power to regulate trade that spanned
multiple states
 Economic Panic
 RR Financial Problems contribute to Nationwide Depression
 Corporate abuses, mismanagement, “flooded” market
 600 Banks close, 15,000 businesses fail, 4 million ppl unemployed (20%)
 Investment firms gobble up RRs
 7 companies gain control of 66% of RRs
 JP Morgan & Co
 Populist Party created (1892)
 Alternative to Republican and Democrat Parties
 Purpose: “restore government to ‘plain people’”
 Farmers, laborers, reformers
 Mid-Western ideals
 Leaders of the party are from MN, IA, KS, & NE
 Reason: depression of 1892 left 4 million unemployed
 Populist Party Platform:
 Mint silver = create increase in prices for goods & services
 Graduated income tax: as you make more, you pay more in taxes
 Election of Senators by popular vote
 Term limits for Pres & VP
 Est. of 8 hr work day
 Immigration restrictions
 Election bids
 1892: Populist Party Presidential Candidate - James Weaver (IA)
 10% of Pres. Vote in 1892 - loses to Grover Cleveland
 5 Senators elected
 3 Governors elected
 1500 state legislators (most success, most impact)
 1896
 Republicans
o Who: business owners, bankers, Northeasterners
o Nominee: William McKinley
 Democrats & Populists Unite
o Who: farmers, daily laborers, Southerners & Westerners
o Nominee: William Jennings Bryan
 Issues
o Bimetallism v. Gold Standard
 Bimetallists = gold for silver in exchange for “paper”
currency
 Democrats & Populists
 Stimulate econ with more $$$ in circulation
(liberal)
 Gold Standard = paper currency only for gold
 Republicans
 Stable econ with “expensive” currency
(conservative)
 Results
o Victor: McKinley
 Carries the “East” & industry of Midwest
o Populism crumbles
 Voice of the “little guy” heard
 Democrats adopt Populist platform
 Reforms were coming
 Lasting Legacy
 Ideals of the Populist Party live on within Democratic Party
 Democrats absorb Populist Party members