Prior to the Civil War, creations such as the steel plow fostered economic change, endorsing higher profits for wheat and corn, hence boosting the Southern industry. Although all seemed to progress during this time, the South re-entered their deteriorating substandard society following the events of the Civil war, annihilating their once-prosperous economy. As slavery continued in the South, the North industrialized, constructing numerous amounts of factories and further developing acts, such as the Homestead, to facilitate westward expansion. Technology, government policy, and economic conditions transformed American agriculture through
Although various components contributed to the transformation of American agriculture, advancements in technology renewed life for the working class, executing change. Document C, moreover, displays the thresher, a new form of technology, during The Wheat Harvest in 1880. Likewise to this particular wheat harvest, having new innovations made life both easier and cheaper for farmers, granting them the opportunity to grow more crops. Agricultural production also catapulted with the expansion of transcontinental railroads in 1870-1890. As illustrated in Document B, land grants emboldened railroad expansion, developing national market linking regions that further encouraged the idea of westward expansion. Although the replacement of canals and trails seemed like a change for the better, the spread of railroads actually hurt farmers.
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Consequently, as the production of crops increased from advanced farm machinery, the amount of money farmers made decreased, leaving farmers in distress with their inadequate incomes. Document A depicts the variation of prices for the production of wheat, cotton, and corn between the years 1865-1900, representing how American agriculture was under high economic stress during this time, leading farmers to the commencement of movements such as the Grange. Agriculture, as seen in Doc. A, showed increased production of these crops but also demonstrates the plummeting prices they came along with. Transcontinental railroad owners abused their power towards the public, charging working and lower class individuals higher prices for the number of crops they wanted to transport whereas the wealthy were given free passes or were charged significantly less regardless of how much they wanted to transport. Seeing this form of corruption, Oliver H. Kelley organized the Patrons of Husbandry, a movement that, with the formation of farmers, became to be known as the Grange. Sadly, this action was stopped by the Supreme Court once it was ruled states could not regulate interstate commerce. The Interstate Commerce Act, however, banned unequal discrimination against shippers but did not stop injust with corporate wealth.
Government policy throughout the 19th century ran under the “laissez-faire” concept which allowed the industry to be run freely without government intervention. Republicans favored cities with large businesses, limiting progress with the farmers. Those who did progress created organizations such as the Grange (mentioned above), and Farmer’s Alliance. Additionally, Mary Elizabeth Lease, as demonstrated in Document E, manifests how political parties lied to farmers, resulting in suffering for the farmers as an effect of overproduction. Conflict over the gold or silver standard quickly arose as the Populist and Democratic Party ought to maximize the economy with silver. William Jennings Bryan, as stated in Document G, confirms that the gold standard had negatively affected laboring interests, hence alluding that farms were vital for endurance in cities, concluding that although “cities depend on farms, farms do not depend on cities”.
Last but not least, farmers sustained the worst of oppression during this period. In order to succeed as a farmer in 1965-1900, nearly all of their hard work had to be discarded as shown in Document D. Here, a contract created in 1882 in North Carolina demonstrates how the writer, in this case, a farmer, was required to pay the cropper one-half of their net proceeds, leaving them with little to live on. To make matters worse, the weather did not cooperate with the famers. Document F emphasizes how hail had demolished crops, leading to the starvation of Susan Orcutt, her family only being one of the many affected with similar conditions at this time.
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