While laissez-faire enabled corporate powers to burgeon, farmers and social workers did not benefit from the bureaucratic government. American agriculture endured many hardships during the Gilded Age and was profoundly affected by the technological advancements, government policies, and economic conditions between 1865 and 1900. The declining position of American Farmers was the corollary of novel technology and mechanized agriculture. Because subsistence farming was no longer a viable option, farmers transformed their estates into commercial businesses and became heavily dependent on machinery and producing at commercial scales. Much of the new technology farmers invested in for example, steel plows, harrows, grain binders, threshers, windmills, …show more content…
Examples of such policies are the McKinley Tariff, The Dawes Act, “Crime of ‘73,” governments lax enforcements on regulations, and political fraudulence. The McKinley Tariff posed problems to farmers in that it raised importation taxes, which raised the prices on farm equipment and ignored the already plunging agricultural prices. The Wilson-Gorman Tariff was a slight improve in that it reduced the original tariff. The Dawes Severalty Act also had an adverse effect on farming. It retracted the Indian Reservations and expanded white settlement by increasing the acreage for farmers during the Gilded Age (Document I). Congress’ vicissitude in 1873, of the Mint Act of 1872 was especially hard on farmers. Known as, the “Crime of ’73,” this new policy discontinued silver coinage and allowed only for standard gold that would stabilize the currency and benefit the bankers. Since the amount of gold in circulation could not keep up with the growing economy, farmers were negatively impacted: the change in currency depreciated the prices farmers received for their crops and made it arduous to repay loans. Government subsidies for expansion of railroads and lax enforcements of regulations did not benefit the farmers either. Lastly, Political fraudulence was common during that time period. Political parties often lied to farmers and encouraged them to raise big crops and would then …show more content…
The party planned to increase democracy, establish a graduated income tax, regulate railroads, and solve the money issue with silver coinage. Conformists of the party were mainly farmers and other people in favor of inflation. The Populist Party was the most successful third party in the 19th century, attracting more than a million followers; however, its popularity was ephemeral. The election of 1896, which revolved around the circulation of money, resulted in the demise of the Peoples Party. The supporters of the Populist Party threw their support at Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan, who endorsed silver coinage in his “Cross of Gold” speech. To their dismay, McKinley, who promised to maintain the gold standard, defeated Bryan and the entire Democratic and Populist
(a) One factor that determined the outcome of the 1896 election was the fact Cleveland industrialist named Marcus Alonzo Hanna was determined to see McKinley, Republican Candidate, elected; “I love McKinley,” He once said. The Republican platform cleverly straddled the money question but leaned toward hard-money policies. He believed that the free coinage of silver would bring financial ruin to America, in which William J. Bryan’s, Democratic Candidate, “Cross of Gold” speech demanded inflation through the unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 ounces of silver to 1 of gold, through the market ratio was about 32 to 1. Free silver became almost as much a religious as a financial issue. Using his vast wealth and power, Hanna directed
In 1898, three political parties tried to win the election, the Republicans, the Populists, and the Democrats. Many of the Populists were poor black farmers and sided with Republicans. Though they had their electoral successes in 1894 and 1896, they were defeated by the Democrats in 1898. The Democrats won the 1898 election because they believed in anti-negro domination and attacking the Republicans.
(Mefferd 12). Mefferd is basically saying that the crops that were cheaper before were more expensive and if it was sold with parity prices it would ten times more expensive than that. Which main means more gain for farmers. Even though the act didn’t benefit all the farmers it did help many farmers who were struggling to raise their income to the level it was during pre-depression and every crisis they
Farmers who borrowed money now could not pay off debt owed, in turn farmers were faced with losing their
During this period, it appeared that big businesses were truly in control due to the fixing of elections and purchasing of favors. The wealth of these Captains of Industry was frequently thrown around in order to further their political interests and increase financial gain. Political involvement of the average American was at an all-time high during this era. These citizens were fiercely loyal to their respective political parties. Much like labor unions, dues were collected from party members.
The rich controlled the government and William Jennings Bryan’s fight was to bring the issue into the public eye by way of the Democratic Party, which closely resembled the views of the Populist party. Bryan argued that the fight was the Christian thing to do. Putting limitations on corporations
The Populists of the late 1800s proved to be a significant liberal movement since their ideals contradicted with the common conservative beliefs in the time period. Composed of former members of the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance, the Populist Party formed as a result of the economic problems farmers faced in the Gilded Age. Farmers blamed their debt troubles on several powerful forces. Railroad companies overcharged for shipping and farmers faced the extremely high McKinley Tariff which made it more expensive to buy an item harder to sell crops. The farmers’ financial woes led them to develop liberal beliefs and solutions and promote the preservation of the small farming way of life during a time when the nation was becoming more industrial.
Farmers became political in order to protect their interest and Farmers’ Alliances were created. On page 604 of the textbook it notes that “...in February of 1892, the Alliances formed a new national political party”. This party would be known as the Populist Party. People moving from all over the east and south along with new immigrants populated the Great Plains and changed not only the land but politics
The Populist Party took away votes from the main two parties, and had 22 electoral votes in the 1892 election. Although it wasn’t much, they proved their point. People would defect if things weren’t changed. In the Senate, Speaker of the House Thomas B. Reed
During the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, often referred to as the “Agricultural Revolution”, the United States’ large farmer population was growing increasingly discontent with the state of political affairs. Wheat and cotton prices were at an all time low due to their high tariffs, deflation, debts and the expansion of the railroad onto farm property. Additionally, unfair freight rates contributed to farmers’ unrest and a desire for political reform. As a result, many sought immediate and radical change through political means. This led to the establishment of the Farmer’s Alliance and later the Populist Party which both played a large role in national politics by introducing new ideas regarding economics on both a domestic
The farmers did not know the correct way to farm they were just so focused on making men and producing crops. After World War I farmers created a way to produce more wheat without it costing them much money. Many farmers purchased plows and other equipment. Farmers plowed many acres of land in efforts to make money. This farming technique the farmers used helped produce record numbers of wheat from 1925 to 1930.
Although he lost three presidential elections, he managed to transform the country out of popularity. He was also influential when it came to women’s suffrage, income tax, prohibition, and creation of a department of labor (William Jennings Bryan 2015 Britannica). Part of this was influenced by his family who were very religious and disciplined him very well. One of the most famous speeches belonging to Bryan is his “Cross of Gold Speech”. “If they dare to come out in the opened field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind the producing masses of the nation and the world.
Rylan Sedlacek Robert Whitley HIS-132 8 February 2023 William Jennings Bryan was a prominent politician and lawyer from Nebraska, who served as a Congressman and later as the Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson. He was known for his populist views and famous speeches. These factors led to Bryan being widely regarded as one of the most influential political figures of his time. In 1896, Bryan delivered his famous "Cross of Gold Speech" to the Democratic National Convention, where he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Throughout his speech, Bryan, “advocated the inclusion of a silver standard for U.S. currency, which rallied the populist base of the Democratic Party and helped Bryan
At the start of the 1890s the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed by both the House and Congress. This would prohibit trusts, which have grown rapidly over recent decades. The agrarian movement was a farmers alliance- the first of its kind. As the Granges
The Populist party was a result of these changes. The Populist party mainly consisted of small farmers, urban workers, and western miners. The Populist party had managed to carry candidates in at least twelve states. In 1896, the Democrats emerged with the Populist party, nominating William Jennings Bryan, and the Republicans nominating William McKinley. After the Republican victory in the presidential election, they became the party of businesses, advocating low taxes and a minimum government interference.