American Farmers In The 19th Century

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The American farmers of the late nineteenth century were faced with deflation, mortgage foreclosures, high tariffs, unreasonable railroad rates and debt. The farmers sought immediate change through politics with the formation of the Populist party and creation of the Farmer’s Alliance. These two newly formed organizations changed the national political landscape with their ideas of the governments role in the economy. During the middle of the nineteenth century the global economy was declining due to international crop failure. American farmers saw this as a chance of economic opportunity and began to grow wheat in vast amounts to sell for high profits. By 1890 the international economy had leveled out and the surplus of wheat provided by American farmers caused the crops value to decrease significantly. When American farmers leaned so heavily on wheat for their source of income when it no longer brought the same return they began to experience deflation. The deflation of wheat prices left farmers financially vulnerable. Many farmers…show more content…
The farmers knew they had no choice but to pay the unfair rail rates to be able to transport their goods to market. Farmers began to state that the government should assume control of the rail lines because they are to protect the general public. The governments response to the outcry from the farmers was the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission who’s job was to make rail lines publicly post prices and conduct business fairly for all parties involved. Another huge issue farmers had with the government was taxes. The McKinley Tariff that raised rates to 48.4% was the final straw for the farmers. Farmers were forced to purchase American made goods when they could have bought cheaper foreign created goods at a lower price if it wasn’t for the unfair protective tariffs that were in

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