IV. Agrarian Response to Economic Change

A. Cheap ____________ and new technology help settle the West and givefarmers a push. (This area of our country is known as the ________ ________

1. _______________ are given grants of land for free.2. Congress passes two laws that help _________________ move west.

a. Homestead Act: This gave ________ acres of land to any farmer who developed it for _______ years.b. Morrill Act: This provided Western States with huge tracks of land with the stipulation that agricultural __________________ would be built on them. This would help teach the farmers of the West the best ways to use the land.

3. The new invention of the ___________ ___________ plow allowed farmers to cultivate the deep routed grassy plains. (Reapers and Combines were other inventions that cultivated the ________ _________ as well)

LandGreat Plains

RailroadsFarmers

1605

colleges

Steel Tipped

Great Plains

B. Farmers are hurt by their dependence on Banks, Merchants, and of course___________________.

1. Farmers depended on banks to give them ____________ (Capital)2. Farmers also borrowed machinery on store credit from merchants (________________)3. The farmers worst enemy though was the __________________. They charged high rates for storage and ___________________ of crops.4. Farmers generally had good crops in the late 1800’s, but _______________ dropped dramatically fro their crops. Many merchants and banks ________________________ (took possession of) on farms.

Railroads

Loans

LaborRailroad

TransportationPrices

***Prices dropped due to overproductionForeclosed

C. The ___________ movement (An agrarian Response)

1. At first the Grange was a social gathering of farmers. By the late 1800’s though, they began to meet to discuss how to combat

decreasing ______________ and increasing ________________ rates.2. The grange developed ____________________. These business would exist on the donations of grange members. These __________________ would build grain elevators and buy farm machinery in bulk for the members of the business.3. Granger Laws were passed by some state Legislatures. These regulated railroad rates. The ________________ _____________ changed its mind on these laws in two landmark cases.

a. ________ v. Illinois : The Supreme Court said that states could set regulatory rates.

b. ___________v. Illinois: The Supreme Court stated that states could not regulate trains that were involved in _____________ commerce

*These two cases demonstrate flexibility in the Constitution through ___________ __________Judicial Review

Granger

Prices RailroadCooperatives

“Coops”

Supreme Court

Munn

Wabash

Interstate

D. Populism (a political response to economic change)

1. Originally, farmers joined ________________ in different sectors of the country.

a. Northern Alliance – 2 million farmers in the Mid and North Westb. Southern Alliance – 3 million farmers of the Southc. Colored Farmers’ National Alliance – 1 million members.

2. In 1892, the Northern and Southern Alliances formed to create the ____________________ Party. 3. The Populist Party Platform consisted of several radical ideas:

a. A __________________ income tax. (The more you __________, the more you _x____________.)b. Government ownership or at least __________________ of ________________.c. Election of __________________ by direct vote of the people rather than state legislatures.d. The use of: … in the state governments

-initiative:

-Referendum:

e. The _____ hour work day (Tried to capture ___________ votes of the Northeast.

Alliances

Populist

Graduated Make Pay in taxes

RegulationRailroads

Senators

Citizens sign petitions to create laws

Citizens vote on laws (like a school budget)More citizen controlOf Government -R

8 Workers

4. The Populists also demanded the __________ coinage of ____________ in order to _______________ the economy. This would ___________ the prices of their crops, while the price of their loans would ______________ the ____________.5. The election of 1896

a. The Populist candidate for President in 1892 was James Weaver who received 22 electoral votes. A good start for a new and third party. (What would you do if you were the head of one of the two major parties?)b. In 1896, both the Democrats and Populists chose __________________ ______________ ____________ as their Presidential candidates. (Cross of Gold speech project)c. ________________ _________________ wins the election as laborers in the Northeast feared inflation and the loss of jobs.

Free SilverInflate raise

Remain Same

William Jennings Bryan

William McKinley

E. Populists (a _____________ party R) impact the national government by influencing the other major parties to pass the following laws and Amendments.

1. Sixteenth Amendment

2. Seventeenth Amendment:

3. Interstate Commerce Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC):

***Although third parties may not ______ national elections, they do influence the _____________ ______________ and impact the _______________ government.

Third

INCOME TAX

DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS

The government can now regulate the railroads: rates hadTo be posted and fair as per distance and weight.

winMajor Parties National