During the late 1800s and early 1900s, new advances changed many Americans way of life. Agriculture was changed drastically by the latest technology, government policies, and economic conditions. New technology made the jobs of farmers easier which meant they wouldn’t need to labor in the fields all day, this allowed for more leisure time. As America began to shift from an agrarian society to an industrialized nation, farmers struggled with making a profit for themselves. The new advancements in technology allowed farmers to produce an oversupply of their crop; however, this did not help them to earn a living. The overproduction of food meant the prices would have to be lowered. With the difficult economy, this was not beneficial to farmers.
…show more content…
They thought that bigger and better things were happening in america during the industrial revolution that took priorities over small farms. An example of this is when western farmers resisted the transportation rates made by railroads and fought back, however, when the issue was brought to court the railroad claimed victory (Document C). This goes to show how the government was influenced by the up and coming industrial monopolies and had a tendency to overlook farmers. Fed up with their treatment, the farmers created the Farmers Union which was inclusive for farmers nationwide. The assembly helped to resist the economic instability they were faced with. Farmers still had to struggle to get any kind of recognition in political decisions and unfortunately rarely succeeded. This upsetted them because all they were trying to do was make a living for themselves and that became increasingly difficult in the competitive economy of the gilded age. This enraged farmers who were told that the new advancements of the 19th century would be helpful and that they would be raking in money but instead were selling crops for mere pennies (Document G). Another instance in which farmers were not represented in a government policy was the Monetary Policy. The government had a strong grasp on how much money was in circulation -- they made currency solely gold. The objective of this policy was to increase the worth of money. The farmers were harmed by this because of the scarcity of money in the backcountry and as a result more farms began to die off, because of this, the Farmers Union stood up against the new policy and argued for silver and paper money (Document J). Monopolies began to flourish and the government used them to try to recreate their once great economy. This meant most of the laws passed helped the
They thought that bigger and better things were happening in america during the industrial revolution that took priorities over small farms. An example of this is when western farmers resisted the transportation rates made by railroads and fought back, however, when the issue was brought to court the railroad claimed victory (Document C). This goes to show how the government was influenced by the up and coming industrial monopolies and had a tendency to overlook farmers. Fed up with their treatment, the farmers created the Farmers Union which was inclusive for farmers nationwide. The assembly helped to resist the economic instability they were faced with. Farmers still had to struggle to get any kind of recognition in political decisions and unfortunately rarely succeeded. This upsetted them because all they were trying to do was make a living for themselves and that became increasingly difficult in the competitive economy of the gilded age. This enraged farmers who were told that the new advancements of the 19th century would be helpful and that they would be raking in money but instead were selling crops for mere pennies (Document G). Another instance in which farmers were not represented in a government policy was the Monetary Policy. The government had a strong grasp on how much money was in circulation -- they made currency solely gold. The objective of this policy was to increase the worth of money. The farmers were harmed by this because of the scarcity of money in the backcountry and as a result more farms began to die off, because of this, the Farmers Union stood up against the new policy and argued for silver and paper money (Document J). Monopolies began to flourish and the government used them to try to recreate their once great economy. This meant most of the laws passed helped the