Gilded Age Farming and Granger Movement

Gilded Age Farming

• America rapidly industrialized, impacting rural agrarian communities.
• Increased demand for food led to more farmland cultivation and advancements in farming technology; one farmer in 1900 produced as much wheat as 20 farmers in 1860, and 430 million acres were converted to farmland.
• This surplus led to falling prices, harming farmers burdened by debt for land, equipment, and supplies.
• Competition from South America and Europe, along with retaliatory tariffs, worsened the situation.

Granger Movement and Farmers' Alliances

• Farmers organized socially and politically in the Granger Movement (National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry) during the 19th century.
• Membership grew during economic hardship, especially after the 1873 Panic.
• Grangers and Farmers' Alliances aimed to combat monopolistic railroad and grain elevator pricing.
• Farmers faced vastly different shipping costs depending on distance from the shipping point; long-haul rates were more than short-haul rates.
• Grange members sought cooperative ownership of equipment, establishing early credit unions to fund themselves.
• Farmers' Alliances lobbied for Granger laws (pricing caps) to combat unfair practices.
• Granger laws were successfully implemented in various midwestern states although, challenged and overturned.

Munn v. Illinois and Wabash Case

• Munn v. Illinois (1877) ruled that the government could regulate businesses affecting the public interest.
• However, the Wabash Case (1886) overturned Illinois's Granger law, asserting federal government's jurisdiction over interstate commerce, nullifying state regulations.

Populist Party

• Lack of national support for agrarian interests, and the Wabash decision drove the formation of the Populist Party (People's Party).
• Focused on currency reform, advocating for the use of silver to increase the money supply (increase inflation to help indebted farmers).
• Proposed a graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, national bank abolition, and lower tariffs.
• Demanded a one-term limit for president, direct election of senators, recalls, and secret ballots.

Populists in Elections of 1892 and 1896

• James Weaver, the Populist presidential candidate in 1892, garnered nearly 9% vote.
• The Populists gained support during a subsequent economic downturn.
• Democrats adopted some Populist ideas to woo voters, such as the support of Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan, who ran in 1896.
• Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech was an influential support for free silver.
• Bryan was also endorsed by the Populist party in 1896, helping absorb the Populists into the Democratic party.
• Bryan lost the 1896 election to McKinley.
• The Populist Party lost their unique political identity as their constituents were absorbed into the Democratic Party.

Outcomes and Legacy

• Despite setbacks, inflationary pressures occurred, anyway, through the discovery of gold in Yukon, growing demand and European crop failures, driving up food prices.
• The Progressive Era would later address some of the Populists' issues.
• Grange reverted to social support with its continued existence.

Explore the significant changes in farming during the Gilded Age and the rise of the Granger Movement. This quiz covers the impact of industrialization on agriculture, the increase in farming technology, and the collective action of farmers to combat economic challenges. Test your knowledge on these pivotal movements and their historical context.