1-7. The Farmers’ RevoltKey Terms The Grange Granger Laws Mary E LeaseAlliance Democrats Populist Party 1892 ElectionI. Farming Boom, then Bust1. Post-war Expansion-1860s: High Prices for Cotton, Wheat, Corn-Commercial Farming on the Plains2. Post-Reconstruction Decline-1880s: Over-production drives down prices-Return of drought conditions-High Freight and Storage ratesII. The Grange1. Self-help for farmers-Regular meetings to exchange information-Co-operatives-Independent Insurance companies2. Political action-Farmers shift support from Republicans to Democrats-Granger lawsIII. The Populist movement1. The Farmers’ Alliance2. Women in the movement-Mary E. Lease3. “Alliance Democrats”4. Alliance goals-Reduce the tariff-Graduated income tax-Regulation of railroads and communications industries-Destruction of national banks-Direct election of US Senators-“Free silver”5. Election of 1892-Poor whites and poor blacks unite under the Populist banner-Presidential candidate Leonidas Polk dies-The coalition unravels under intense attacks by both major partiesIV. The Legacy of Populism1. Segregation2. “Mixed Capitalism” NOTES-I. Farming Boom and then Bust (Post War)- After the war blacks became farmers- Prices for cotton and wheat rose- Western farmers had problems with drought, Eastern farmers had problems with gov’t- Great plains became green from large amounts of rain fall- Wheat in 1860’s $1.60 a bushel - Grow a diversity of crops- Bought supplies on credit- 1880’s more Americans, South Americans and Europeans are farming- Prices per bushel fell to $0.49, so farmers planted and grew more- Climate crisis, return of drought- Farmers are no longer the ideal job, cowboys and gov’t are ideal nowII. The Grange- The grange is the first farmers organization, held meetings with other farmers and gave helpful advice to each other- Farmers opened up their own stores and insurance company - Real enemy to farmers are the railroad and banks- Grange never had enough money to invest in their new company- Farmers are not business men, they couldn’t compete against the real business men- Republican party was not helpful to the farmers so they got help from the Democratic party- 1870’s market started turning up, 1877 The Grange faded outIII.The Populist Movement- The farmers’ Alliance helped all farmers, black and white- Included women, Mary E. Lease, “Raise less corn and more hell”- 1889 South and Great Plains joined together- 1890 Alliance wanted to get back at the railroad and banks- Received help from democratic party and elected them- Added tariff tax to goods and services being sold- U.S. dollars were very expensive, makes it harder for farmers to pay off their debt- Inflation by the gov’t- Election of 1892- Populist believed that the role of gov’t was to protect the people from the big corporations- Anti- unrestrained people- Reached out to the miners in the West- East called for wages and 8hr work day- Republicans said they wanted to destroy the capitalism - Populist won 22 electoral votes, crushed by republican party- 1892 populist party died- Polk, southern leader, died during a campaign, presidential candidate- VP replaced him was northern IV. The Legacy of Populism- Segregation, didn’t allow blacks to vote- Mixed Capitalism, gov’t regulated, interfered with