Strikes By Farmers In The 1930

Nearly all of the reasons for agrarian discontent in the late 19th century stem from three areas: land, transportation, and money. The farmers were fighting the perceived threats posed by monopolies and trusts, railroads, and the demonetization of silver. The American farmer during this period already had his fair share of problems which, compared to the success of the industrialized businessmen, resulted in much of the animosity between the two groups. The fact of the matter was farmers had entered a viscous cycle. Wheat and cotton, once the staples of American agriculture were selling at such low prices that it was almost impossible

Why did farmers express discontent during 1870-1900 and what impact did their attitudes and actions have on national politics. Manufacturing hit a huge growth rate during this period which cause agriculture to decline, and cause farmers to struggle to make a living. The farmers were now being abused by the railroad companies and banks. The documents in DBQ 8 show rationality for the farmer’s protests, exclusively on bank mortgage tariffs and the gold standard. Two particular groups became popular during this period and that would be the Grangers and the Populist Party. Farmers fought against the Gold Standard, railroads, and industrialist during this period causing lots of confrontation.

By the end of the 1920s several events began to impact the success farmers had gained. First, a drought hit the Midwest - drying up the land and the crops. Second, demand for goods also fell, decreasing the value of the crops that went to the market. Finally, dust storms would wipe out the remaining fields - causing a total loss for both the sharecropper and landowner.

They were paid not to produce crops on as much land. This was supposed to lower the supply of crops and increase prices, which would help farmers. This decision came with consequences. America had to become “a major food- importing nation” (67) because farmers were not producing enough crops. Also since the farmers were gaining that meant that the consumer was losing. The prices of things like clothing and food greatly increased. This meant that many Americans were forced to wear old clothes and go hungry because they could not afford to pay the high prices. Since less merchandise was being sold, a lot of people who were employed in places like mills and textile companies lost their jobs. Also tenants of cotton plantations were left unemployed due to farms not using as much land.

Industry ruined the crop market by causing food prices to decrease because of improvements in agricultural tools. Document 1 shows a significant decrease in food prices which was harmful for farmers because of low pay as prices decreased. Farmers were unable to tend to their crops to the best of their ability because of the lack of money coming in. In the 1870s, the Farmers’ Alliance was formed in an attempt to negotiate lower prices for supplies to farm. Eventually the alliance led to the Populist party.

The government did not respond to their economic troubles, and the farmers, feeling ignored by their government, decided to protest against it. Several farmers were agitated, and decided to come together. Meetings were called and an organized rebellion was organized

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.

To begin, the farmers were fighting for their rights. According to Document C, “what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” (Jefferson). Thomas Jefferson explained that it is normal for people to protest if they think something is wrong. In this case, the farmers didn’t like that they were being punished because they couldn’t afford to pay the high taxes, so they started speaking up. But instead of pacifying the farmers, they were being

The farmers were misled by the government to take unrealistic risks. For instance, the government encouraged them to take inexpensive loans and plant as much as possible as a way of showing their patriotism. These farmers came to believe that investing in wheat was the best decision since they believed that the price of wheat would rise. Therefore, they took land that was meant for grass and animals and turned it into wheat farms expecting great returns. At first, there was a gold rush for grain as the price of wheat doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled. This further stimulated a stampede to get rid of the grass and replace it with wheat. In the end, the prices of the grains crashed; the farmers who had invested in wheat abandoned their crops. The land became barren due to the lack of grass. The winds resulted in the Dust Bowl as there was nothing to protect the soil from being blown

Once the American Revolution was over and plantations had been rebuilt, many farmers were not making as much as they were before. This was due to the decrease in their indigo market, their main source of cash. Britain had been their primary consumer but now got their indigo elsewhere. Inland farmers needed a crop that would bring in profit like the long staple cotton on the coast. They began growing short

New mechanized farming techniques led farmers to be able to increase their profits (Document C). With the help of the new technology for farming, farmers produced more crops than ever. However, the overproduction of wheat and the Great Depression is what unfortunately led to the reduced market prices. As a result, the wheat market was swamped, and people were too poor to buy. Furthermore, due to the great loss, farmers were unable to earn back what they produced, so instead they expanded their fields in an effort to turn their unfortunate circumstance into a profit. However, the prairies they covered with wheat caused the grass to slowly disappear and the fields were left bare (Document

After World War I, there was a large surplus of agricultural goods because there was no longer a need for so many resources. Farmers did not compensate for the reduced demand, and this led to deflation of the crop prices due to the high supply compared to the demand. This deflation eventually put many farmers in debt because they were not able to sell enough to pay off their costs. These debts put most farmers out of work while the rest were suffering due to the poor income. Another factor that pushed farmers into foreclosure was the massive drought in the west.

As an excuse to pocket more money, many business owners saw striking as a sign of supporting communism due to the Red Scare. Along with this, strikes were forbidden as everyone had to put the war effort in front of all other personal goals and complaints.

Farmers where Some of the main people who were affected by not only the great depression , but the dust bowl as well. Farmers were getting paid by AAA to reduce the land used to raise livestock and to produce products such as corn, wheat, tobacco, etc,these were just some of the problems that farmers suffered. Another reason why this event affected the farmers is because of the fact that farmers over farmed their land trying to get it to grow which made it worse and all these dried up crops turned to dust layering their houses so they had to abonden their lifes to head west. Companies paid farmers to plant clover and alfalpha instead of cotton and wheat to reduce not only land usage, but under priced products. Last but not least one of

Although the 1920’s brought about great economic boom for Americans, the following decade brought about The Great Depression, many communities faced true hardships among them were the agricultural community. Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to help the struggling American economy by introducing the New Deal. As soon as President Roosevelt came into office he enacted the, “Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) to provide relief to farmers” (Hardman 1999). This act provided famers with government subsidies for their crops and at times even paying farmers not to grow food. The New Deal worked for some farmers while others faced even more obstacles due to the Dust Bowl.