The Role Of Farming In The 1930's

Farm technology made a lot of progress from 1890-1920. Before this time, all the farming was done by hand. There were many inventions from wire to tractors to help make farming easier. Three inventions that really changed farming were gas tractors, cream separator and horse drawn combine.

Between 1865 and 1900 American agriculture was changed through things like, government policy, technology, and economic conditions. Through 1865 and 1900, the market of agriculture experienced political adjustments in management of the land by the government whom increased prices and controlled land sales. Government also regulated economic changes with the debut of up and coming equipment and technology that greatly influenced the growth of the farming business. Many farmers reaction to the decline in agriculture due to the political and economic alterations was to become more involved in government and politics in order to favor laws that would benefit the agriculture society.

In a time when America was coming out of the bloodiest war that was ever fought, against themselves, The Civil War, and when America looked overseas for a new frontier with Imperialism. It is in this context that America started to grow westward with farm land and in industry with the million of workers, but America still felt growing pains. Two significant ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) were the formation of organizations to protect farmers, and the creation of labor unions and the use of strikes to protect the workers.

Over the last century, farming has changed exponentially, transforming food production. During the late 1800s, the industrial revolution revitalizes agriculture by bolstering crop and livestock productivity, spurring the second agricultural revolution. This revolution marks the creation of a commercial market for food. (Knox, 334) The third agricultural revolution, occurring after World War II, introduces mechanization, chemical farming, and manufacturing processing that still exists today; therefore, marking the transition from the family owned and operated farms to commercial farms. “Back around the turn of the last century, the average farmer could feed six or eight people. Now the average American farmer can feed 126 people” (Kenner). The standardization of fast food reconstructed the food preparation system. McDonald’s Speedee Service System introduced manufacturing production lines into a restaurant, transforming the farming into a food industry. (Knox, 341) Even though most food sold in supermarkets and restaurants is cultivated on corporate lands, surprisingly, farming is still believed to be a family business with locals living in small farmhouses.

The farmers felt that they were paying more and more to take loans and borrow money, to buy farming necessities and to sell their crops. The prices that had for the crops was degrading dramatically.

In the early 1800s, the south—and most of the north, for that matter—used a subsistence economy, where crops and goods were made locally by families for themselves and their communities. Family farms were basically forced to use a subsistence economy, simply because the lack of fast transportation. If they attempted to ship their crops to other ports and towns where it was needed, the crops would rot well before they ever made it. In the south, cotton was made using slave labor, but the harvests weren’t as large as they could be. The process of harvesting was slow—as it was with many crops across the north and south—and the wield was decent.

Imagine trying to survive when the stock market crashes, thousands of banks close, and the Dust Bowl destroys crops. In the 1930s, the United States had a period of financial crisis, known as the Great Depression. The stock market crash, the closure of thousands of banks, and the Dust Bowl wrecked havoc on almost all of the citizens in the United States. The Great Depression led to farmers losing their farms, millions of people becoming migrant workers, and unsafe conditions for laborers. Many farmers lost their land in the 1930s.

The stock market crash of October 29, 1929 provided a dramatic end to an era of unprecedented, and unprecedentedly lopsided, prosperity. This disaster had been brewing for years. Different historians and economists offer different explanations for the crisis–some blame the increasingly uneven distribution of wealth and purchasing power in the 1920s, while others blame the decade’s agricultural slump or the international instability caused by World War I. In any case, the nation was woefully unprepared for the crash. For the most part, banks were unregulated and uninsured.

In fact, the stock market restores its lost value and stabilizes. However, this resurgence is short lived as it enters long, downward spiral, paving way to a crash much worse than the one before. In July 8, 1932 the stock market crashes once more, only this time, all capital is lost. (American Heroes Channel) Although they are prominent, the stock market’s fall is not the paramount cause of the depression.

In the 1920s new technology and industry for agriculture was increasing. New equipment was being invented to help farmers and their lifestyle. Tractors were upgraded to have internal combustion engines, rather than the old steam engines they once had the tractor was now allot like automobiles. The new technology that was used in tractors helped to open 35 million new acres to cultivation, the tractors were helping famers to produce more crops with fewer workers. New innovations were continuing to be invented, which was supposed to help farmers increase in production, but rather than increase the production decreased.

The industrialization of America led to lots of new technology for farming being developed, which further drove farmers into debt. New plows and tools were created and although they made farming significantly easier, they were also very expensive. Farmers were forced to buy these tools by their landlords and they struggled to find cheaper ways to compete with larger farms. Unlike farmers earlier in the century, these farmers did not grow many crops, even for sustenance. Instead, they grew only a couple cash crops, which could bring a lot of money, but also could bring in none if there was a drought or other problem.

People trusted the “Buy now, Pay later” idea, so much so that they bought so much, and didn't have enough money to pay later. The distribution in income was only favorable for 40% of the entire population, and the citizens were gambling on their stock investments and thought nothing could go wrong. Imagine it is October 28, 1929, living a lavish lifestyle in your mansion, only to have the all of the dreams that came true crushed the very next

Before the Stock Market crash of 1929, America went through a decade of prosperity and social change known as the Roaring Twenties. New fads and numerous inventions emerged throughout our country. Many people bought on credit and as a result, our economy flourished. However, many Americans failed to realize this would be one of the underlying causes leading to the Great Depression. For instance, “Most people bought, but many couldn’t afford to pay the full price all at once.

October 29, 1929 was perhaps one of the most dreadful days in American history for its economy. Before “Black Tuesday”, as it was known, stock prices had been dropping. As a result, America experienced a devastating reality known as the Stock Market Crash. Many economists hold the belief that it was caused due to people “buying on margin”. The effects of this were detrimental and quickly lead us into a depression, and not only for America, but around the world as well.

There began to be a gradual decline in prices and the stock market ruptured. On October 24, 1929, the infamous “Black Thursday” took place, where stock holders went on a panic selling spree. Things then went from bad to worse, stock prices went down 33 percent. People stopped purchasing goods and business investments decreased after the crash. In the fall of 1930, the first of four major waves