discontent of farmers in the late 1800s
...se of power, the rail companies explained that if they did not rebate, they would not make enough profit to stay in business. In a questioning done by the Senate Cullom Committee, George Parker defended the malpractice of the railroads by saying that “bankruptcy, inevitably and speedily…” would be the consequence of giving the small shippers the same low rates as the larger companies. The farmers were drastically hurt by the monopolies that were held by the railroad companies, and they had a right to complain about it. In an excerpt from the Octopus by Frank Norris, it depicts how the railroads raised prices and made it impossible for a farmer to make any profit. The farmers and small shippers in America during the late 1900s were right for going against the railroad companies because many of these farmers, already hurt by the downslide in agriculture, were ruined. During the late 1900s, “big business” was a major part of American life, and along with big businesses came monopolies and trusts. The rise of these monopolies and trusts worried many farmers; for the farmers felt that the disappearance of competition would lead to unreasonable prices that would hurt the consumers. In an excerpt from A Call to Action: An Interpretation of the Great Uprising written by James B. Weaver, he expressed the opinions of many Americans of the period in his work. He felt that trusts cause many negative reactions such as lower pay for workers and high prices for the consumers, and he also believed that trusts were fueled by corruption through “threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud, wreck, and pillage.” Although the farmers and the people of the Populist Party did have some facts to support their complaints against monopolies and trusts, the truth of the matter was the prices weren’t extremely high and most big business owners weren’t intentionally creating monopolies. Among the complaints against monopolies, trusts, and the railroads, deflation and falling prices during the late 1800’s brought the most heated complaint of all from the farmers and the Populist Party. Deflation during this time period was a major concern to the farmers because of the drastic fall in the value of crops. The Populists were assured that a reversal of the Coinage Act of 1873, which demonetized silver, would put a stop to the deflation. In an excerpt from the Populist platform for the 1892 election, the party expressed their wants for the unlimited making of silver and an increase in the money supply. Although the farmers have good intentions, again, they are wrong in the views of the problems. It is true that America’s money supply was very limited and not enough to provide for the booming country, but the farmers were false in their attempts to explain why. In a document comparing the United States population and money in circulation, the data shows that though the country’s popula...