1. Farmers and Workers
USH-4.4

2. I. Supply and Demand Supply Demand They have an inverse relationship
Amount of a product that exists
Demand
Amount of a product that people want
They have an inverse relationship
Higher supply means low demand and vice versa
Price (almost) always follows demand

3. II. Farmers Problems Farmers begin to grow more crops b/c:
Invention of the steel plow
Machines like the reaper
More land out West
Even with growing cities, supply exceeded demand so…
The price falls
Farmers can’t make payments on loans for land and equipment

4. II. Farmers Problems They plant more crops to make more money
The more they grow…
The higher the supply…
The lower the demand…
The lower the price…
Etc.
The banks begin to take back the land and equipment

5. III. Farmer Solutions Farmers begin to organize
Elect representatives to state legislatures
Farmers blamed the RR for their problems
RR charged high prices to move and store crops
Granger Laws are passed
State laws that try to regulate how RR charged
Supreme Court says states can’t do that b/c only the federal gov’t can regulate interstate commerce

6. III. Farmer Solutions Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act
Controls RR rates and practices
Freight Rate Cases – Supreme Court cases that limited the effectiveness of the law
Farmers begin to support the Populist Party

7. III. Farmer Solutions Populists supported:
Regulation of RR
Regulation of banking
Unlimited coinage of silver
Secret ballots
Graduated income tax
Popular election of Senators
Elect senators, governors, & state legislators in the South and West, but no president

8. IV. Workers
Workers attempt to create unions to protect themselves from:
Poor working conditions
Long hours
Low pay
No safety
Workers felt like “replaceable cogs”
If it breaks, just hired someone new

9. IV. Workers Supply and Demand was applied to labor
Immigrants, women, and children means supply is high
That makes demand to hire low
Injury, death, & unemployment
That keeps wages low
Less than half of people made $500/year

10. V. Unions
Groups that advocated for the improvement of conditions in industry
Often wanted talks
Were blamed for wildcat walkouts
American Federation of Labor
One of the first unions
Led by Samuel Gompers
Gain collective bargaining powers for its member so they could fight for better conditions

11. V. Unions Strikes were often ineffective
Always more workers to break the strike (scabs)
Private security forces
Having workers kicked out of company housing
Blacklisting workers from other jobs
Gov’t backed owners

12. V. Unions
Organizing into smaller craft unions of skilled workers was better than large unions w/everyone
Went after easy issues like:
Wages
Hours
Conditions
Skilled workers are harder to replace so strikes were more damaging to company

13. V. Unions Unions make little progress for a long time
Low membership makes it harder
Unions were portrayed as socialist or communist
Wanting to spread the wealth is not “capitalist”
Mostly not true
Used as propaganda by the bosses

14. VI. Election of 1896 Main issue is gold standard vs bimetallism
Gold or gold and silver?
Gov’t support owners or farmers and workers?
Many workers voted Republican (in favor of gold only) b/c:
They didn’t want to lose their jobs
They don’t want prices to increase b/c of inflation

15. VI. Election of 1896 From Ohio! Used a Front Porch Campaign
William McKinley (R)
William Jennings Bryan (D)
From Ohio!
Used a Front Porch Campaign
Never went out campaigning but took visitors
Big Business spent about $3.5 million to elect McKinley
$95,068, today
Wins the election
From Nebraska
Campaigned all over the Midwest especially
US will be “crucified on a Cross of Gold” b/c of gold standard
Said farmers needed to prosper before factory workers
Collected about $500,000 from Big Business

16. VII. Railroad Strike of 1877
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad cut wages for the second time in a year
Workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia refused to allow trains to move
State militia is called out, but they refuse to shoot the strikers

17. VII. Railroad Strike of 1877 Spread to Baltimore, MD
The militia march from barracks to B&O station and fight in the streets
Militia is trapped until Pres. Hayes sent federal troops

18. VII. Railroad Strike of 1877 Pittsburgh, PA has worst violence
Militia fires into crowd and is trapped
Strikers burn everything
Militia shoots their way out
Hayes sends in troops after a month
Philadelphia and Reading, PA also have violence and strikes

19. VII. Railroad Strike of 1877
Spreads to Illinois and shuts down Chicago
Spreads to Missouri and closes St. Louis
Federal troops going from town to town eventually stops the strike

20. VIII. Haymarket Affair 5/4/1886 in Chicago
Demonstrators were protesting for an 8 hour work day
Police began breaking it up
Someone threw dynamite
Police start shooting
7 dead cops, at least 4 dead civilians and more than 100 wounded

21. IX. Pullman Strike George Pullman built railway cars
His workers lived in his town of Pullman, outside of Chicago
He kept cutting wages but not lowering rent
Workers strike and refuse to allow trains using his cars to move
Spreads across the country
Pres. Cleveland sent in troops to help “move mail cars”
30 dead and over $80 million in damages