History Of The Progressive Era

Taylor Garrant
History
November 11, 2013 Progressive Era From 1865 to 1900, America went from an Agrarian society to an industrial economy. As America was advancing, many people were taken advantage of by big business. The two groups of people who suffered most at the hands of big business were farmers and laborers. Both groups, farmers and laborers, suffered significantly, because of harsh working conditions, unfair pay, and corrupt practices. The Populist Party, which was the movement to have more political power for the farmers, was in an economic crisis. Due to an ample supply of crops the price dropped. High tariffs heightened the cost of manufactured goods the farmers needed to keep their farms, which, made it harder to sell their goods over seas because of the lack of money they had. They felt like the bank that gave them loans and the railroads that set their shipping rates at unfair prices cheated them. They felt like they were losing authority to big business.
During inflation, decline in the value of money, sent the prices of goods soaring.
After the civil war greenbacks, gold, and silver coins were in circulation. At the time, to get Inflation under control they stopped printing greenbacks to help pay some of the bonds they had. In 1873 they also decided to stop making silver coins. This resulted in

deflation, an increase in the value of money and a decrease in prices. Farmers were hit hard by this forcing them to borrow money for seed to plant. Interest rates began to rise, which made the farmers debts much greater because the short supply of money. Many farmers wanted to expand the money supply by having silver coins. Trying to confront these problems, groups such as the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance began to form to drive prices up and to make loans to farmers at low interest rates. The failing of the
Grange resulted in the Farmers Alliance, which had some success. But in 1890 when the alliance had failed to fix the farmers problems the group split up disagreeing with what they should do. Charles Macune, one who was part of the Alliance, wanted to produce a list of demands and promise to vote for candidates who supported them. He thought this would force Democrats to accept the Alliance. In 1890 the Farmers Alliance created the Ocala Demands which were created to guide the farmers who to vote for.
The demands were to have and end to protective tariffs and national banks, the free coinage of silver and stronger regulations of the railroads and to be able to elect senators by voters not state legislature. To prevent farmers from voting for Populists
John Sherman created the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. This act let the State
Treasury purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver per month, which reduced deflation slightly. Some people believed that American currency should have only been based on gold while others believed that coining silver would solve America’s economic crisis.
The problem was whether to endorse the free coinage of silver to gold at a ration of 16 to 1. In 1896 William Bryan who was a strong supporter of silver gave a speech.
Document A is saying that the people that are being affected by gold will not put up with

this economic crisis because they produce for the country and will not be crushed by the economy. This was their fight for silver. President McKinley provided a ,”Full dinner pail” to urban workers, which was worth more then the issue of silver money. During
McKinley’s time in office, the opposition to gold currency died. Since there were was a surplus of gold that was found in other parts of the world, our money supply increased, which made it easier for farmers to obtain credit. Silver coinage was one hardship of farmers. Another hardship of farmers was railroads. Farmers were given unfair shipping rates from the railroads. Shipping food through the railroads was very expensive and was sometimes the reason of

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