The economic situation of American farmers in the last third of the 19th century caused a surge in agrarian radicalism in the United States.
The last third of the 19th century, which brought down severe trials on farmers and caused the most powerful, most radical protest movement of agricultural producers in American history, had positive aspects, not least related to the consequences of the socio-economic measures of the Civil War.
After the Civil War of 1861-1865, American farmers, especially in the Midwest and South, began to suffer losses from the constant decline in prices for their products. At the same time, the number of tenants who do not own land was 1 million 294 thousand people - 28% of the total number of farmers in the United States. The sharp increase in the number of farms and their area caused a crisis of overproduction.
The struggle of farmers for the economic sustainability of their farms was manifested in the movement of grangers and greenbackers. Participants in the farmersā movement advocated empowering farmers through the democratization of legislation. The Granger League arose in 1867. The disappointment in the results led to the breakdown of the movement.
In 1875, the Greenback Party emerged, which fought for the settlement of monetary circulation in the interests of farming.
In the first half of the 70s, another form of farming movement arose - alliances. Their rapid growth in the states of the North-West allowed in 1880 to hold a joint conference that established the United States Farmers Union, known as the Northern Alliance. The consolidation of farming in the South led to the creation of a separate Southern Alliance in 1887. Their programs practically coincided: the demand for the alienation of surplus land from railway companies and other corporations, the uniform distribution of taxes on all sectors of society, and the prevention of speculation in agricultural products.
In 1892, farmer alliances merged into a Popular (populist) party. The populists demanded the seizure of land surplus from corporations and the distribution of land to settlers, the unlimited minting of silver and gold coins, the transfer of railways, telegraphs and telephones to state ownership, the introduction of an 8-hour working day, etc. However, the efforts of the populists were blocked. This led to the idea of establishing an alliance with the workers. In some states, workers-farmers units were created on the platform of the Peopleās Party. However, a conflict has ripened within the populist movement. The poorest farmers demanded radical measures against the monopolies, condemned the use of troops and court orders regarding strikes. Large farmers were not in solidarity with them. In this situation, the workers began to move away from the People's Party. In 1896, its congress in St. Louis supported the nomination of Democrat Brian as a presidential candidate. This meant the collapse of the People's Party.
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