Agrarian Discontent and the 19th Century
America, like any other nation, has always relied heavily on agriculture. Differing from other nations, however, is the problems that agriculture has created through America's brief history. It can be argued that the Civil War was started by agriculture; the South developed as an agricultural dependent region, while the North developed as a manufacturing region; creating two distinct, almost separate cultures. Some twenty years after the Civil War, new problems were arising; that of agrarian discontent. Farmers of the 1880s and 90s were having a harder and harder time getting by. Mother Nature was showing no mercy; through grasshoppers, floods, and draughts. But the farmers placed the blame of their problems on two main areas; the money supply, and the railroads.In the late 1800s deflation became a major problem for the farmers. Farmers were suffering losses year after year and were forced to have their mortgages foreclosed on, as they saw it, by their "Eastern Master (Doc D)." The reason the farmers blamed this "Eastern Master" was no one was aiding them in their falling prices. The Populist Party felt that silver was the answer, and not coining it was a "vast conspiracy against mankind" across "two continents, and it
The railway was perhaps one the most influential components in America's growth, especially economically. In the ideal situation it allowed the farmer to easily transport his raw goods to the market, making him larger profits. Often times, it did not work this way, however. Facing stiff competition, railroads often times lowered their rates for larger companies, and made the money back by charging the smaller farmer. George Parker, vice-president of the Cairo Short Line Railroad, admitted to the Senate Cullom Committee that "there is a decided distinction between local and through business. They are influenced by different considerations. Different rules and practices apply to them...(Doc G)." He further justified this by saying that they were entitled to doing so, and if they didn't, the result would be "bankruptcy, inevitably speedily...(Doc G)." To look at it from the farmer's point of view, Frank Norris wrote The Octopus. In the story Dyke has just found out the railroad has raised the rate on hops from two cents to five. "All his calculations as to a profit on his little investment he had based on freight rate of two cents a pound. He was under contract to deliver his crop. He could not draw back. The new rate ate up every cent of his gains.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Frank Norris, McKinley McKinley, Civil War, Mother Nature, Agricultural Unrest, United States', Cullom Committee, Populist Party, , Eastern Master, civil war, money supply, eastern master,
Approximate Word count = 854
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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