Farmers In The 1980's Essay

Farmers had been hit a lot harder than most in the 20's and past the

Farmers did well after the Civil War and into the 1880s with plentiful rainfall and easy credit from banks. In the 1890s, however, American farmers suffered from drought, poor harvests, restrictive tariff and fiscal policies, low commodity prices, and competition from abroad. A downward swing in the business cycle exacerbated their plight, and many farmers in the Plains filed for

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce many more crops than they had ever been able to previously. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily dropping prices of

From 1880-1906, western farmers were affected by multiple issues that they saw as threats to their way of life. The main threats to the farmers were railroads, trusts, and the government, because these institutions all had the power to drastically affect the ability of the farmers to make profits. Therefore, the farmers were not wrong to feel frustration toward those institutions when the institutions caused the farmers to live lives of increasingly extreme poverty.

As the population of the young United States increased more and more people hungry mouths were asking for food. Farmers had to keep up with new technology but there were also many setbacks in government policy and economic conditions. In the period of 1865-1900, there were many ways in which technology, government policy, and economic conditions changed early American agriculture.

In the late 19th century, many factors affected agriculture in the United States as small farms transitioned to large farms. Technology, government policy, and economic conditions greatly influenced the way agriculture functioned in America. Farmers were exposed to advanced agricultural machinery and suffered from poor economic conditions due to a lack of government intervention. As production of crops increased thanks to the advancements in agriculture and processing, the prices of food dropped, leading to the eventual downfall of American farmers. In addition, the government was rooting for the success of the national economy, even if that meant choosing to neglect the struggling farmers and workers that made that success possible.

During the Industrial era, the government practiced a laissez-faire policy towards businesses, free land grants to railroads and a high tariff as well were established. All of these did not help the farmers at all because of their need to support themselves and their families. Life was hard in the west for the average farmer, most of which were barely making any money. Mary E. Lease states, “We went to work and plowed and planted; the rains fell, the sun shone, nature smiled, and we raised the big crop they told us to; and what came of it?” (Doc. 3). Lease continues by listing many different crops farmers grew but with very little money in return. For a group of people to put so much effort into one harvest but make virtually nothing from it is very disturbing. That is when many people realized their situation and after a year or so, gave up and went to work in a factory. Nowadays, almost everyone would agree with how dire the economic status was and that a change was needed. Moreover, farmers who used the railroads were affected economically. The distance between an eastern market and a mid-western farm is about one thousand miles or more. Before the introduction of the railroads, it was very expensive and very difficult to ship food at those great lengths. However, all that changed during the Industrial era. Farmers now had to only move their product to the closest train to bring it eastward, but that

In the time period between 1865 and 1900 technology,government policy,and economic conditions really changed American agriculture. The technology made farming more efficient,and more profitable. Government policies both helped and hindered farmers with helping them transport their products,but they also “stole” from the farmers to help make the government more money. The economic conditions helped farmers with selling more products,and helping cities grow;along with starving families almost to death. All of these coming together really changed American agriculture.

In the 1920s, the economy boomed. Poverty was nowhere to be found and people were living their lives happily. At least in the cities and suburbs. Farmers, however, were not getting their

During the time period of 1865-1900 American agriculture changed greatly. Several components such as technology, government policy, and economic conditions caused agriculture to transform in the way it did. The main advancements in technology were new farming machinery and the growth in the railroad, both benefited the farmers grow and move crops. The government policies seemed to never favor the farmers, they passed laws making it harder for farmers to make a living. The economic conditions for farmers became rough due to the price of crops dropping from overproduction.

Arguing that the majority of farmers during the Great Depression benefitted from the government policies produced through President Roosevelt’s New Deal is an inaccurate claim. While history textbooks highlight the improvement of finances for people in rural areas in the United States of America, the personal experiences of family farmers contradict those textbooks. Writers of textbooks about American history should consider looking further into the delicate topic of how the Great Depression effected common farm families. In the West, farmers endured the Dust Bowl. In the North, people in rural areas competed to make a profit. Although statistics show the most economic damage of the Great Depression beginning at the end of 1929, small farm families refer to the effects of the Depression dating back as early as 1925 since government policies mostly benefitted large farm industries as small farms were forced to foreclose.

When we mention about farm, most of us have this image of a vast green pasture where farmers spend most of their time herding livestock but that idyllic picture is just a thing from the past. Since the 1930s in America, small farms started to wither away, made way to bigger and highly mechanized factory farms. It all traced back to McDonalds and the booming of fast food restaurants (Food, Inc 2008). Fast food restaurants had become successful because they could produce tasty food with cheaper cost. Their franchises eventually made them a multi-million-dollars industry. Big business required big suppliers. Small rural farms cannot meet the demand for supply and they quickly fade away. Farmers were being replaced by corporations in

The agriculture field is one of the biggest employers, employing over 155 million people in the United States. What do you think about when you hear the word “agriculture?” Many people would say farming, but this is not the most common occupation in this field. Farmers make up a fraction of the agricultural jobs at 900,000, but over 2.1 million people own, rent, and claim farming as a primary source of income. The average farm size has dropped from 460 acres in 1990 to 418 acres in 2007, while the average age of this occupation rose to 57, making this one of the older workforces in the United States.

During the late nineteenth century, the agrarian movement evolved into a political force that energized American farmers to voice their political and economic grievances like never before. Although the movement essentially died after William Jennings Bryan's loss of the 1896 Presidential election, many of the reforms they fought for were eventually passed into law.

The farmers living in the southern had a 30 percent collapse of farming goods. In the 1990’s,USA and Europe retained subsides. Two million mexican campesinos lost their farms due to subsidized corn from the north. Along with this about thirty million people had to face losing their land. The U.S. had to also face competition in dealing with Mexico’s and Canada’s imports.The Power of agribusiness began to raise and companies were using foreign stocks to sell transported