1865-1900 was the period when the United States was changing from the Reconstruction period to the new Industrial age. The new change of the United States also changed the American agriculture for the citizens. The American agriculture changed because new technology was advancing, government policy was treating some people unfair, and economic conditions were rough for many. As the United States grows larger in population and larger in land, technology was becoming newer and better as well. The new technology of the railroad was a big hit for the United States. There was a large railroad expansion (Doc B) between the years of 1870 and 1890.
The expansion of the railroad allowed transporting agricultural product to the Eastern states much easier. Not only made transporting products easier but it also encouraged westward expansion which then developed emerging national markets linking regions which was connected by the railroad. Congress even supported the fact of the expansion of railroads by passing series of the Pacific Railway Act. Another new technology during this era was new farming equipment. The Wheat Harvest (Doc D) shows farmers harvesting wheat by using big machinery and horses. The application of technology increase production with farming equipment.
The Term Paper on The Transcontinental Railroad And Westward Expansion
The Transcontinental Railroad and Westward Expansion Thesis: The transcontinental railroad greatly increased Westward expansion in the United States of America during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The history of the United States has been influenced by England in many ways. In the second half of the 1800's, the railroad, which was invented in England, had a major effect on Western ...
This new technology led farmers to invest in heavy machinery and to the emergence of large-scale commercial/bonanza farming. A heavy machine farmers started to use was the grain elevator. The Grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator that scoops grain from a lover level and transfers it to a storage facility. The United States started becoming more advance in technology which therefore led the American agriculture change. The government policies during this age thought were doing good to Americans but in the end, farmers where very dissatisfied with the government.
The Illinois legislature passed laws limiting freight rates but the Supreme Court upheld the state to limit these rates. The farmers (Doc C) were unhappy and not pleased with the railroads. The farmers sought state regulation for grain and railroad freight rates. The Grange organized farmers and laws were enacted in Illinois. The Supreme Court then upheld these laws in the Munn v. Illinois court case. They ruled regulation of interstate commerce an “exclusive” federal right in the Wabash case. In Kansas during this time, people claimed (Doc H) they were starving and hail ruined their crops.
Farming on the Great Plains was quite difficult for farmers. Homestead acts gave ownership to an applicant to land for little or no cost that brought many people to the Great Plains. Many homesteaders returned back East because of the hardship they have encountered. The United States Congress also passed the Desert Land act to encourage and promote the arid and semiarid public land of the Western states. Government policies made it very tuff for farmers which made a change in the American agriculture. Economic conditions were rough for almost everyone during this time period.
There was a falling price (Doc A) for wheat, cotton, and corn but also an increase of production of these products. The American agriculture was under economic stress of the overproduction and falling prices. The increase of farm production was from the improved farm machinery, irrigation, and chemical fertilizers. The boom and bust economic cycles occurred during this time. These cycles were several economic indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. The term “boom and bust” pertains to capitalism. Political parties lied to the farmers (Doc G) and encouraged them to raise big crops.
The Essay on American History/Government
The political activism of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. calls into question not only the issue of civil disobedience, but the ramifications of religious and political ideologies and their relationship to the rule of law, specifically the United States Constitution. King's rationalization for acts of civil disobedience is based on spiritual, as well as moral and political ideology; this fact ...
They also said farmers suffered from overproduction and farm prices were fallen. Farmers were dissatisfied with the political parties and politicians and at one point wanted to form their own political party and did. Farmers had fallen on economic hard times and the government should remedy overproduction by making sure people didn’t starve. The People’s Party or Populists Party was formed and established in 1891 during the Populist movement. It rapidly faded away because it consisted of mainly poor farmers in the South and in the plains states.
Most of the farmers were poor due to these economic conditions which had an affect on the American agriculture. The change of the American agriculture mainly took a toll on farmers during 1865-1900. Technology became more advance with the railroad and heavy farming machinery. Government policies led to Supreme Court cases and acts to try to help the citizens. Economic conditions were horrible due to the overproduction and the falling prices of products. This time period was very tuff because of how much the United States was changing.
