Essay, Research Paper: Agrarian Discontent

Farmers Discontent in the 1800s
The period between 1880 and 1900 was a good time for American politics. The country was finally free of the threat of war, and many of its citizens were living comfortably. However, as time went by, the American farmer found it harder and harder to live comfortably. Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the sustenance of the agriculture industry, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them. Furthermore, improvement in transportation made it easier for foreign competition to gain the upper hand, making it harder for American farmers to dispose of extra crops that had accumulated. Finally, years of drought in the Midwest and the downward spiral of business in the 1890 s devastated many of the nation s farmers. As a result of the agricultural depression, many farm groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what farmers saw as the reasons for the decline in agriculture. During the last twenty years of the nineteenth century, many farmers in the United States saw monopolies and trusts, railroads, and money shortages and the loss in value of silver as threats to their way of life, though in many cases their complaints were not valid.
The growth of the railroad was one of the most significant elements in American economic growth. However, in many ways, the railroads hurt small shippers and farmers. Extreme competition between rail companies necessitated some way to win business. To do this, many railroads offered rebates and drawbacks to larger shippers who used their rails. However, this practice hurt smaller shippers, including farmers, for often times railroad companies would charge more to ship products short distances than they would for long trips. The rail companies justified this practice by asserting that if they did not give rebates, they would not make enough profit to stay in business. While the railroads felt that they must use this practice to make a profit, the farmers were justified in complaining, for they were seriously injured by it. The railroads regularly used rebates and drawbacks to help win the business of large shippers, and made up this loss in profit by increasing the cost to smaller shippers such as farmers. As a result, many farmers, already hurt by the downslide in agriculture, were ruined. Thus, the farmers of the late nineteenth century had a valid complaint against railroad shippers, for these farmers were hurt by the unfair practices of the railroads.