Farmers' Discontent In The 1800s
The period between 1880 and 1900 was a boom time for American
politics. The country was for once free of the threat of war, and many of
its citizens were living comfortably. However, as these two decades went
by, the American farmer found it harder and harder to live comfortably.
Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the bulwark of agriculture, were
selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make
a profit off them. Furthermore, improvement in transportation allowed
foreign competition to materialize, making it harder for American farmers
to dispose of surplus crop. Finally, years of drought in the midwest and
the downward spiral of business in the 1890's ...
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railroad was one of the most significant
elements in American economic growth. However, in many ways, the railroads
hurt small shippers and farmers. Extreme competition between rail
companies necessitated some way to win business. To do this, many
railroads offered rebates and drawbacks to larger shippers who used their
rails. However, this practice hurt smaller shippers, including farmers,
for often times railroad companies would charge more to ship products
short distances than they would for long trips. The rail companies
justified this practice by asserting that if they did not rebate, they
would not make enough profit to stay in business. In his testimony to the
Senate Cullom Committee, George W. Parker stated, "...the operating
expense of this road...requires a certain volume of business to meet these
fixed expenses....in some seasons of the year, the local business of the
road...is not sufficient to make the earnings...when we make up a train of
ten of fifteen cars of local ...
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prices,
along with the need for better efficiency in industry, led to the rise of
such companies as Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil, which controlled a
majority of the nation's supply of raw steel and oil respectively. The
rise of these monopolies and trusts concerned many farmers, for they felt
that the disappearance of competition would lead to erratic and
unreasonable price rises that would hurt consumers. James B. Weaver, the
Populist party's presidential candidate in the 1892 election, summed up
the feelings of many Americans of the period in his work, A Call to
Action: An Interpretation of the Great Uprising. He wrote, "It is clear
that trusts are...in conflict with the Common ...
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"Farmers' Discontent In The 1800s." Essayworld.com. August 6, 2005. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Farmers-Discontent-In-The-1800s/31242.
"Farmers' Discontent In The 1800s." Essayworld.com. August 6, 2005. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Farmers-Discontent-In-The-1800s/31242.
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