USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -What did the price of wheat drop to during 1866 and mis 1890s? Who were the farmers angry with and why? They were angry with the railroad companies because they charged the farmers more money to ship produce. They were angry with the Eastern manufacturers because they charged high prices for their own products.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Complaints of Farmers They generally blamed low prices on over-production. Second, farmers alleged that monopolistic railroads and grain elevators charged unfair prices for their services. Government regulation was the farmers’ solution to the problem of monopoly.

Detailed explanation-3: -As farmers fell deeper into debt, whether it be to the local stores where they bought supplies or to the railroads that shipped their produce, their response was to increase crop production each year in the hope of earning more money with which to pay back their debt. The more they produced, the lower prices dropped.

Detailed explanation-4: -After the Civil War, drought, plagues of grasshoppers, boll weevils, rising costs, falling prices, and high interest rates made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a farmer.

Detailed explanation-5: -Thus, farmer indebtedness began to rise, and many lost their land or were threatened with foreclosure. They bristled against the inequality that defined their financial straits and seeming powerlessness while industrialists and bankers were growing incredibly wealthy and powerful.