Agrarian Discontent in the Late 1800's

Why the Farmers Were Wrong The period between 1880 and 1900 was a arrest time for American politics. The country was for erstwhile free of the menace of war, and many a(prenominal) of its citizens were living comfortably. However, as these two decades went by, the American recruiter 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 closely impossible for farmers to make a profit off them. Furthermore, expediency in transportation allowed foreign competition to materialize, making it harder for American farmers to dispose of surplus crop. Finally, years of drought in the midwestern United States and the downward spiral of business in the 1890s devastated many of the democracys farmers. As a result of the agricultural depression, many farm groups, most nonably the Populist Party, arose to fight what farmers saw as the reasons for the decline in agriculture. During the last twenty years of the 19th century, many farmers in the United States saw monopolies and trusts, lines, and money shortages and the demonetization of silver as threats to their way of life, though in many cases their complaints were not valid.

The growth of the prepareroad was one of the most authoritative elements in American economic growth. However, in many ways, the railroads ache small shippers and farmers. Extreme competition between rail companies necessitated several(prenominal) way to win business. To do this, many railroads offered rebates and drawbacks to larger shippers who utilize 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... If you want to get a full essay, purchase order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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