Farmers' Movement
The Farmers' Movement was a significant organization that emerged in the late 19th century, uniting rural communities in response to economic challenges faced by farmers, such as rising debts, overproduction, and escalating costs for storage and transportation. It evolved through three main stages: the Grange, Farmers' Alliance, and the Populist Party, collectively advocating for farmers' rights and interests. The Grange, established in the 1860s, focused on educating farmers and promoting social cohesion, while also lobbying for regulatory reforms against monopolistic practices, particularly in the railroad industry.
As economic pressures intensified, the Farmers' Alliance emerged in the late 1870s, becoming the largest agrarian organization of its time and emphasizing political education and cooperative strategies among farmers. This movement eventually culminated in the formation of the Populist Party, which sought to translate grassroots frustrations into political action, achieving notable electoral successes in the 1890s. Despite facing challenges, the Farmers' Movement played a crucial role in advocating for reforms in various areas such as banking and taxation, and it significantly influenced American political dynamics by introducing progressive ideas that shaped future policies.
Farmers' Movement
The Farmers' movement was an organization among rural people that began as a fraternal organization and became a political force known as the People's Party (1891-1908). It encompassed three separate stages, called the Grange, Farmers' Alliance, and Populist Party. From these beginnings, the People's Party took rural political action to the national level.
Overview
During the nineteenth century, when land was cheap and settlement was actively promoted by the railroads, people poured into the West to farm. Many were successful, especially during the Civil War (1961–65). In the 1870s, farmers found that debts, overproduction, and high expenses stood in the way of making a good living. In particular, the costs of storing grain and shipping goods by railroad kept rising until farmers had little to show for a year's toil.
Although farmers were not naturally inclined to organize, they began to band together. Despite political, regional, and personal differences, farmers could no longer tolerate indifferent politicians or destructive monopolies. Beginning with the Grangers, the rural population began to organize, and by 1892, they had their own political party and an organization known as the Farmers' Movement.
Grange
In the 1860s, Oliver Hudson Kelley (1826-1913) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture toured farms in the South, where he found many farmers using outdated agricultural practices. Kelley helped organize a fraternal organization called the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, or Grange, through which he provided lectures on proper tillage techniques and farm management. Kelley set it up similar to a secret society with degrees, offices, and rituals and allowed both men and women to join. Its purpose was to advance the welfare of farmers through education, social opportunities, and economic benefits. The Grange became the first national organization of farmers in the country.
Although the Grange was not organized as a political organization, its members sought government representation and fought against the power of the railroads. The organization convinced legislators at the local, state, and national levels that the country needed agriculture classes taught in public schools, free rural mail delivery, and better roads, among other services. In the early 1870s, the Grange supported laws regulating the prices railroads and grain elevators could charge. Members of the Grange sued in what were known as Granger cases. The most prominent was Munn v. Illinois (1876), and in 1877, the Supreme Court found that the state could impose regulations and fix maximum rates when it was in the public interest. As other farmers' organizations took form and became involved in politics, the Grange returned its focus to local issues and social functions.
Farmers' Alliance
By the late 1870s, storage and transportation costs were a few problems farmers faced. In good years, overproduction caused prices to drop. In bad years, farmers did not make enough money to plant next year's crops. In several areas of the country, including New York, Texas, and the Midwest, farmers organized to put political pressure on legislators for economic reform. The Farmers' Alliance became the largest agrarian organization of the time, and the southern branch, called the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union (NFAIU), was the most powerful of the groups. In 1886, the Colored Farmers' Alliance was formed in Texas because Black individuals were not permitted to join White groups.
The agenda of the Farmers' Alliance included the political education of farm families, pressure for government regulations, and a plan allowing farmers to use crops as collateral for government loans. Like the Grange, the Alliance included women as equal members. The organization's lecturers offered information on scientific farming, business methods, and basic economic theory, teaching both practical techniques and political activism. One of its well-known speakers, Mary Elizabeth Lease (1850-1933), later became a strong voice for the Populist Party. Local Alliance groups lobbied for better education for rural children and supported the development of cooperative extension offices, farmers' institutes, and state colleges. Charles William Macune (1851-1940), national president of the Alliance, influenced the founding of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, which later became North Carolina State University.
Populist Party
Like other organizations of the late nineteenth century, the Populist, or People's Party, began as smaller, local groups in the Midwest and South. Angry with legislators who refused to address the desperate economic situation of the rural population, the Farmers' Alliance and other organizations began to direct their energy toward political action. The Kansas People's Party, formed in 1890, gained the support of well-spoken newspaper editors and lecturers such as Lease, spreading the influence of the Farmers' movement.
In the 1890s, the party succeeded in electing several governors and members of Congress, most of them from the South and Midwest. Its first presidential candidate, James B. Weaver (1833-1912), received more than a million votes in 1892, and Populists were the majority in several state legislatures. The party's most famous candidate was William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), who ran for president as the Democratic candidate in 1896 but lost.
Populists have often been painted as uneducated and unsophisticated, stuck in traditional roles and afraid of progress. However, farmers were businessmen trying to protect their interests. As reformers, the Populists embraced many modern ideas that the American upper and middle classes rejected, including scientific research, equality of women, and the use of technology. They embraced innovations in government, including nationalization of what they called natural monopolies, such as the telegraph system and railroads. Although they were never able to elect a president, the Populists strongly influenced both the Democratic and Republican parties, resulting in reforms in banking, taxes, elections, and more.
Bibliography
"Farmers Alliance." Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pd.019.xml. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
The Farmers' Alliance History and Agricultural Digest, edited by N. A. Dunning, Alliance Publishing Company, 1891.
"The Farmers Movement." Teaching American History, teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-farmers-movement. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
"Grange." Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pd.025.xml. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
"Our Roots." National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, National Grange, www.nationalgrange.org/about-us/history. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
Postel, Charles. "Why Did So Many Women Join the Populist Cause?" American Populism, 1876-1896. Illinois During the Gilded Age Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University, digital.lib.niu.edu/illinois/gildedage/populism. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.