The Granger Movement

The Granger Movement, Farmers' Alliances, and the Populist Party

• The Granger movement, also known as the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, began in 1867 as a social network and later evolved into the Farmers' Alliances, gaining significant political influence due to economic hardships faced by farmers.
• The Grange and Farmers' Alliances aimed to combat monopolistic pricing of the railroads, which charged significantly higher rates for transporting goods from the West compared to the East, and also owned most of the grain elevators, leading to exploitation of farmers for storage.
• These organizations sought to address federal government policies that heavily favored industry over agriculture, particularly tariffs and currency regulation that negatively impacted farmers, leading to actions like cooperative ownership of equipment and early credit unions to handle finance needs.
• The Grangers successfully pushed for state laws such as 'Granger laws' in several Midwestern states, which established policies like price caps for shipping and grain-storage facilities, but faced resistance from the railroads, leading to legal battles that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
• The Munn v. Illinois Supreme Court decision in 1877 ruled in favor of the government's right to regulate businesses affecting the public interest, but the Wabash Case in 1886 overturned state regulations, emphasizing the need for national legislation to protect farmers' interests.
• The Populist Party, also known as the People's Party, emerged as a response to the Wabash decision, advocating for currency reform, primarily the reinstatement of silver to back dollars alongside gold to increase the money supply and address deflation.
• In addition to the free coinage of silver, the Populists proposed economic and democratic reforms including a graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads and telegraph lines, and lowering protective tariffs for manufacturing, among other measures.
• The Populists ran James Weaver as their presidential candidate in 1892, gaining over 8% of the vote and drawing attention to their campaign, which focused on portraying a 'conspiracy' of Eastern financial interests seeking to replace America's agrarian tradition with an industrial future.
• The Populist Party's platform resonated with many non-agricultural workers during an economic recession, leading to increased support and forcing other political parties to respond as the 1896 presidential election approached.
• The Populists forced the other political parties into high gear, with most Populists having defected from the Democrat Party, signaling their impact on the political landscape.
• The economic hardships faced by farmers led to the rise of the Granger movement, Farmers' Alliances, and the Populist Party, which sought to address issues such as monopolistic practices of railroads, federal government policies favoring industry, and currency reform.
• The Populist Party's platform included proposals for currency reform, economic and democratic reforms, and resonated with non-agricultural workers, leading to increased support and political impact.