HIST 106 1nd Edition Lecture 5 Outline of Current Lecture II The American Farmer III National Grange IV Farmer s Alliance V The Populous Party Current Lecture The American Farmer The US is expanding quickly More land is turned into farms than ever Immigrants are pouring in The reasons o The Homestead act Government is giving away free land in 1862 To make more free states in the Union rather than slave states o Railroads railroads were being built all across the country o People are rushing westward Industrial Revolution is producing farm equipment which is being used by people moving West We are able to produce a lot more The use of water wells able to bring up water now Production is going up b c farmers are producing We are overproducing and teaching others how to produce The prices are going down o cattle o cotton o wheat Farmers are voting for the Republican party Abraham Lincoln The Republican party didn t represent the farmers or the poor Republican party represented the railroads banks etc 1928 farmers switched to the Democratic party These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute The farmers are the last one to know the value of money The children are leaving the farm to go work in the city o Profit is going down b c short of hands o The farmers start to plant more in hopes of making more money o The price keeps going down even faster Options the farmer has o lay low in the weeds and hope things get better o form a Union to appeal to farmers o join a political party that promises something to make your life better Oliver Kelley o saw how bad farmers were doing o created National Grange teaches scientific farming shows which fields to use pushing co ops to save money admitted women in 1867 wasn t successful b c they didn t show farmers how to improve management and economic involvement The Farmer s Alliance 1880 o Northern Farmers Alliance o Southern Farmers Alliance o They are aggressive and demanded o Wanted more effective regulation of the railroads o Wanted currency controlled by the government instead of banks o Want political reforms politicians play to the wealthy o Want equal taxation o Want co ops o Didn t accomplish anything The Populous Party o They want revolution on the farms o The rural significant revolution in America by American farmers o They went to great lengths and were successful o suffer the fate of third parties in America o they are cannibalized by the third party o they lowered interest rates on mortgage o conservation of land recourses o laborers right to organize o 8 hour work day o wanted to restrict immigration o want a sealed ballet The Wizard of Oz o Limand Baum o the story represents what is happening to American famers wicked witch of the north industrial revolution yellow brick road gold Emerald City Washington City wicked witch of the west the drought The farmers situation gets better during WWI They produce food for troops Goes back down hill By 1930 s complication of the dust bowl o top soil getting blown away Back up doing 1940 s during WWII Goes back down spiraling down IV schools o Harvard o Columbia o Brown o Yale Mayday o International call for distress o French word Help Me