Farmer Complaints
Farmers believed they got the short end of the stick compared to the northeast, which was known for __________.
Hint: Think of the transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes.
What is industry, industrialization, or industrial work?
A general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money
Inflation
The Populist platform also sought a graduated income tax, public ownership of utilities, the voter initiative and referendum, the _____-hour workday, immigration restrictions, and government control of currency.
What is eight?
At the end of the 19th century, about a third of Americans worked in agriculture, compared to only about four percent today. 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 ________.
What is farmer?
Farmers felt there was a perceived shortage of credit and money. Farmers believed that interest rates were too high because of monopolistic lenders, and the money supply was inadequate, producing deflation, meaning prices of goods and services drop over time, increasing the value of money compared with inflation.
A falling price level increased the real burden of debt, as farmers repaid loans with dollars worth significantly more than those they had borrowed. Farmers demanded ceilings on interest rates, public boards to mediate foreclosure proceedings, and the U.S. Treasury to coin _____ freely to increase the money supply.
Reduction of the general level of prices in an economy
Deflation
Free and unlimited coinage of __________
What is silver?
The system by which the value of a currency was defined in terms of gold, for which the currency could be exchanged. It was generally abandoned in the Depression of the 1930s.
What is the gold standard?
Farmers alleged that railroads and grain elevators charged unfair prices for their services. Government regulation was the their suggested solution to the problem of _____________ (when one company dominates a market).
Hint: It's a popular board game.
What is monopoly?
The ______ _______ is the amount of money in circulation. This includes notes and coins and bank deposits.
money supply
Populists wanted to get rid of the deflationary monetary policy based on the ____ standard, as it benefited bankers and other creditors.
What is gold?
The F_______ A________ was first organized in Texas in the mid-1870s and soon spread to other states and territories in the South and Midwest. One of the group's main goals was to form cooperatives. Farmers set up cooperatively owned retail stores and marketing organizations.
What is the Farmers' Alliance?
Farmers claimed that farm prices were falling and, as a consequence, so were their incomes. They generally blamed low prices on over-__________.
What is production?
Increasing the money supply faster than the growth in real output will cause ___________ (inflation or deflation?). The reason is that there is more money chasing the same number of goods. Therefore, the increase in monetary demand causes firms to put up prices.
What is inflation?
In the Presidential election of 1896, the Populist Party puts into its party platform a call for the direct election of ________. This marks the first time that a political party endorses direct election, although neither the Democrats nor the Republicans pay much notice to it.
Hint: These people are part of the upper house of Congress, and the U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house.
What are senators?
In the South, one third of all landholdings were operated by ________. Approximately 75 percent of African American farmers and 25 percent of white farmers tilled land owned by someone else.
Hint: Think of the term for someone who rents an apartment.
What are tenants?
________ were a serious problem for farmers. Rising taxes/duties on industrial products made purchased items more expensive, yet these taxes/duties were not being used to keep farm prices artificially high as well. Therefore, farmers were paying inflated prices but not receiving them.
Hint: The definition of the word is "a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports."
What are tariffs?
Farmers needed more money in circulation, whether it was paper or silver, in order to create _____________ (inflationary or deflationary?) pressure. This pressure would allow farm prices to increase, thus allowing them to earn more money that they could then spend on the higher-priced goods in stores.
What is inflationary?
The populist movement’s advocacy for public ownership of __________ was rooted in the belief that, as crucial national infrastructure, they should operate for the public good rather than private profit.
What are railroads?
Unfair pricing was a fundamental grievance driving the populist call for railroad reform. Railroad companies often charged discriminatory rates, disadvantaging farmers and small business owners who relied on rail transport to bring goods to market. These practices allowed railroads to exploit their regional monopolies, inflating costs and restricting _______________.
What is competition?