Farmers In The 1890's

Farmers were enticed by high prices persuaded farmers to grow a single “cash” crop. Profits were then used to buy food and manufactured goods. In the 1880s, bankruptcy fell into the nation and caused low prices and a deflated currency. As a result, there was not enough dollars to go around and caused debt. Farmers were forced to by expensive machinery to increased crop production, which were sold at low prices and caused even more debt..In a vicious circle, their farm machinery increased their output of grain, lowered the price, and drove them even deeper into debt. In 1890, many farmers lost land due to mortgages. Farmer then began sharecropping in order to survive. Water scarcity and over-used land made it hard for farmers to pay local taxes.
Farmers were hit with barbarous trust like the harvester trust, the barbed-wire trust, and the fertilizer trust. Farmers were forced to pay raised storage rates at grain warehouses and elevators high transportation prices for crops. The “middlemen” would take a portion of the sell price of the goods that the farmers bought. The farmers first took a stand with the Greenback movement. Prices sagged farmers unsuccessfully demanded an inflation of

The alliance aquirred over a million members by 1890 , but the group was weakened the plight of landless tenant farmers and sharecroppers. It was also weakend by exclusion of blacks who made up half of the agricultural population. In the 1890’s, the People’s party was started. They were also known as the Populists, these farmers fought against Wall Street and the “money trust.” They advocated for the nationalization of the railroads, telephones, and telegraph, a graduated income tax, and a new subtreasury. Basically, the populist wanted to provide farmers with loans for crops stored in government-owned warehouses. and the free and unlimited coinage of