History of USA
Page 1 of 12
HISTORY
Subject
:
History
(For under graduate student.)
Paper No.
:
Paper-VII
History of USA
Unit, Chapter & Title :
Unit- 2
Chapter- b
Economic change
Topic No. & Title
Part 3
Economic change: Changes
in Agriculture and Populism.
:
AGE OF REVOLUTION: AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION IN
19TH CENTURY AMERICA
INTRODUCTION
The nineteenth century is etched in the minds of the
Americans as a period of great transformation. “The years
from around 1800 to 1860 comprise what Emerson termed as
an “age of Revolution”-a time “when the old and the new
stand side by side and admit of being compared…” (Emerson
77). It was a revolutionary age indeed; changes swept over
America like a tide ,and redefined the very American way of
History of USA
Page 2 of 12
life. As a consequence of this, American society, polity,
economy and even culture underwent a profound change. All
these
changes
closely
followed
each
other
and
were
interconnected, with change in one field having a deep impact
on the other. America in the antebellum period witnessed a
dynamic change in American economy which assumed the
colour that we are acquainted with today. The seeds of this
economic change were sown in the agricultural sector of
America wherefrom arose the American brand of Capitalism
(in consonance with Rostow‟s model of agrarian revolution
leading to industrialization). This article will investigate the
circumstances, that led America to undergo this profound
change in their agrarian economy.
SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS: A WAY TO AGRARIAN
CAPITALISM
Inventions and discoveries paved the way for revolutionary
changes. European history is replete with accounts of
scientific inventions leading to industrialization and paving the
way for capitalism. The American transformation followed an
almost similar pattern. The nineteenth century ushered in
great scientific discoveries, which changed the face of
agriculture and made it more machine-intensive.
History of USA
Page 3 of 12
Referring to the dynamism of such inventions Professor Palit
refers to the fact
that the patent office had issued 76,000
patents between 1860 and 1900.
Scientific discoveries gave a boost to American agriculture.
The cotton gin invented by Elijah Whitney in 1809 was
followed by the epoch-making invention of the chill plough by
John Drier, which was a remarkable improvement upon the
old iron plough. Then came the remarkable achievement of
Cyrus McCormick and Obit Hussey, when they invented what
is known as the Harvester and the Twine binder. The
Harvester was a versatile machine that could
harvest the
crop in a fraction of the time previously required, while Obit
Hussey‟s Twine binder was able to bind and stack crops into
decent packages to be loaded into wagons or trucks.
Agrarian infrastructure was completely overhauled by the
introduction of such inventions. Agriculture now became a
more machine intensive enterprise, boosting up productivity,
leading
to surplus generation, on which landholders could
capitalize. These inventions served to remove the pain of
individual peasants who had previously performed these tasks
manually. Professor Palit is of the opinion that “… machines
History of USA
Page 4 of 12
can be rated as the most important factor.“ in bringing about
the agricultural revolution in America.
PLANT GENETICS
Biological inventions constituted another important factor in
boosting agricultural growth in America. Genetically modified
crops were invented and made use of during this period to
increase agricultural productivity. The use of these methods,
ensured higher yield and less rotting of crops like corn and
wheat. The new varieties were called Cobunca and Kharcouf,
and were imported from Mexico and Russia and then grown
in the United States. These genetically modified crops could
withstand the vagaries of nature as well as the danger of
locust or other pest attacks, thus ensuring an increased and
better yield, thereby revolutionizing the agricultural scenario
in the post-Civil War period.
AVAILABALITY OF LAND
Land was one factor that was available in abundance in
America with…agricultural land being estimated at 3 million
agricultural farms in 1860. By 1900 this had increased to 60
million agricultural farms. The huge stretches of arable land
made available for cultivation in areas which were known for
History of USA
Page 5 of 12
their aridity such as Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Arizona,
lands, as a consequence of new techniques and new machines
was in itself a remarkable development. But the question that
naturally arises is what accounted for this manifold addition?
Answering this question Professor Palit points out that, “so
much land was available because America was in itself a vast
country and repeated internal expansion, had ensured that
the country spanned from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This
translated into huge expanses of land being available for
farming, which naturally boosted agriculture and productivity.
SPATE IN POPULATION
A
sudden
spate
in
population
during
this
period
also
accounted for this agricultural revolution as a large number of
working
hands
(two
million)
were
made
available
for
agricultural work. Professor Palit explains the source of this
labour by saying that it was largely because of internal
migration to the western side, particularly of people who were
the underdogs of the industrial cities in the east and north,
who got a means of escape to the arable lands of the farwest, and to settle there happily. F. J. Turner has also
referred to this phenomenon saying that whenever there was
any kind of oppression the victims could always move to the
History of USA
Page 6 of 12
west. The recently freed blacks from the south also moved
towards these territories, helping to man this territory.
However compared to people migrating from the northern
areas, it was the new waves of immigration from the old
world to the new that really contributed to the increase in
population. Waves of skilled peasant immigrants from Ireland,
Poland and France, served to fill up the remaining parts of the
continent, contributing to a considerable increase in available
labour.
COUNTRY ROADS TAKE ME HOME: CONSEQUENCES OF
AGRARIAN CAPITALISM
Revolution came as a blessing no doubt, but hidden behind
the
façade
of
transformation,
development
turning
each
lay
the
individual
sinister
into
an
face
of
island.
Professor Palit recounts that mechanization of agriculture,
availability of new arable land and manpower combined to
destroy the American pastoral life of earlier days, and
ushered in an era of capitalism in agriculture. Gone were the
vestiges of community life that characterized each farmstead.
In their stead were born large collectivized farms, wholly
mechanized, extremely efficient, yet granting no separate
identity to the tillers. “…The farmer characteristically works
History of USA
Page 7 of 12
alone and is starved for company by the time he comes back
from the fields. An era had come to an end, farmers now
relied on the claims of cash rather than the chain of
community to do their work.” (Thorreau 135-136). Professor
Palit summarizes the situation, as one which revolved round
machines. Moreover the newly invented machines could only
be utilized in giant
estates or collective farms only. The
small pastoral farms along with the warmth of the family with
which was entwined a sense of personal identity, was virtually
wiped out. The entire country became a giant farm or to
quote George Orwell in ‟Animal Farm‟ an „animal farm‟, not a
human farm anymore. An entire world was lost to the
Americans, and a thinly veiled nostalgia ran among the
Americans, evidence of which is provided by songs of which
possibly one of the most popular is, „Country Roads Take Me
Home‟ by John Denver, where he moans the loss of his ever
so known homestead in the line… „to the place, where I
belong‟. It voiced the emotion of „the martyrs of the
agricultural revolution‟.
QUEST FOR A HOME: GRANGER MOVEMENT
As agriculture became market oriented and life became
mechanized, Americans craved to return to their old pastoral
History of USA
Page 8 of 12
lifestyle, which had „Gone with the Wind‟. In their constant
endeavour to re-discover their self, and old lifestyle, they
came up with various societies, both religious and social in
nature. One such very popular society was established by
Oliver
Kelly
in
1866-1867,
known
as
the
Patrons
of
Husbandry. This society divided each farm into a grange
where the model of old community life was encouraged and
nourished. Adult schools and libraries were developed to
provide the men of the farms with a common ground to
communicate and socialize. Periodicals were also published by
the society, which acted as a common binding force among
the farmers of all the granges. Picnics and village gatherings
were
organized
as
a
means
of
encouraging
social
togetherness. This grange oriented lifestyle came to be known
as the Granger movement. The movement did not remain
confined to social programmes alone, but included and
implemented
economic
agendas
too,
like
agricultural
cooperatives, health cooperatives, and seed cooperatives
which were quite popular.
However, this movement could not assume nationwide fame,
because of its a-political nature. The granger movement
remained a socio-economic movement and did not develop
any
connections
with
either
the
Democrats
or
the
History of USA
Page 9 of 12
Republicans. This made political parties remain aloof to them.
The Granger movement thus remained local in nature, which
in turn was responsible for its gradual slide into oblivion.
GOING POLITICAL: POPULIST MOVEMENT
The failure of the Granger movement made the supporters of
pastoral life realize that in order to preserve the rights of the
small farmers and tillers what was needed was a political third
front. “Ever since the Civil War the farmers, labourers and
moral reformers had been involved in third party politics, but
with scant success. Their main efforts-the Greenback Labor
Party and the Prohibition Party-had never won more than
3.5% of the vote in national election.” (Bailyn). However,
none of these attempts could leave a permanent impression
on American politics. This naturally made the Democrats and
Republicans complacent and they started believing that they
had finally been able to achieve political stability for the
nation. But they were proved wrong when the agrarian
revolts in the countryside began to make their presence felt,
as a viable third front. This prepared the way in the 1890s for
the Populist Movement to appear on the American political
scene. They provided a completely new interpretation of
American life. Defining the Populist movement Professor Palit
History of USA
Page 10 of 12
comments that, the “Populist movement was the political
version of the Granger movement. It was more or less the
same in composition and content. But there was a difference
in that they had to face two important events, landmarks in
American history, which had taken place during this period, of
which one was the loss of the American frontier. Americans
now realised that there was no further land in the west to go
to. The feeling of being caged in now worried them.”
The other event was a political one. It was the election of
1896 which put to test the popularity of the Populist
movement. The elections provided a third front for bringing
their
demands
to
public
notice.
Professor
Palit
has
summarized their demands as being for easier circulation of
silver currency among the farmers and for de-centralization
and de-federalization. They wanted regional banks in addition
to federal banks, which were in the clutches of industrialists.
They wanted a sub-treasury system backed by the federal
government in their own states. William Jennings Brymes,a
popular figure became the face of the Populist movement,
and their presidential candidate. In a famous speech delivered
at Omaha he said, “you sacrifice the nation at the cross of
gold”, bringing home to the people the evils of capitalism and
what lay at stake with the capitalists at the helm of power.
History of USA
Page 11 of 12
His opponent Dover Cleveland, a conservative Republican,
had scant chances of winning, with the rising popularity of
Brymes.
But
the
election
took an
unlikely
turn
when
Cleveland was elected the President. The decision of the
people may have been unexpected but not un-pragmatic.
American life and identity sustained by the frontier felt
threatened with the sudden loss of the frontier and believed
that agriculture alone could not sustain them and that they
needed industries in order to survive. This belief that the days
of prosperous agriculture were numbered (with the close of
the frontier), may have been the reason behind the victory of
Dover Cleveland in the presidential elections, according to
Professor Palit.
CONCLUSION
At Omaha, Brymes in his „Cross of Gold‟ speech had said that
governmental injustice was dividing the nation into tramps
and millionaires. With the final collapse of the Populist
movement, they came to be designated as representing rebel
politics. This gross misinterpretation or „Otherness‟ was
encouraged to strengthen the „Oneness‟ of the Populist
movement. In conclusion Professor Palit supports the stand
taken by
Norman Polack (one of the New American Leftist
History of USA
Page 12 of 12
scholars) in asking whether it was industry that came first or
whether it was the people who deserved priority; and again
whether industry was for people or vice versa?
The capitalists were so dehumanized that their only desire
was to
build industries at the cost of the people. So the
significance of the populists cannot be denied as it aided
Americans to realize that a model society and economy can
only be sustained by balancing both the agricultural and
industrial sectors, not by negating one in favour of the other.