 Farm families only assets were good cheap land and their own hard labor.  Expenses were high.  Major expense was high railroad rates for storing crops in grain elevators and shipping the crops to the city.  To meet expenses until crops were sold farmers depended on credit from merchants and loans from banks.  Natural disasters and low prices often prevented farmers from paying their debts and losing their farms.  Farmers came to resent railroads, merchants, banks, and buyers who expected lower prices when production increased..

 Founded in 1867 to bring farm families together for social purposes but soon focused on coping with troubling economic issues.  Railroads competed for business over long routes and therefore charged low rates.  They made up their loses by overcharging farmers who had to ship crops over less competitive short routes.  Also high charges for storing grain in grain elevators

 Farm prices fell in the late 1800s, farmers joined a movement that became the POPULIST PARTY.  Populist objectives 1892 ◦ Graduated income tax ◦ Government ownership of railroads and telephone and telegraph companies. ◦ 8 hour work day ◦ The initiative (voters’ power to propose new ideas for new state laws) and the referendum voters’ power to approve or reject new laws) ◦ Secret ballot ◦ Popular election of senators instead of state legislatures ◦ Limit terms of president and vice president to one

 Inflate currency by printing paper money or coining silver. 16 silver dollars for every gold dollar. Populist believed there was a connection between the hording of gold coins and the lower prices they received on their products.  Populist wanted to create inflation

 Election of 1896: William Jennings Bryant  Silver Democrats v Northern and Eastern Democrats whom favored gold.  Bryant loses to William McKinley

Graduated Income Tax 16 th Amendment Passed 1913 Popular election Of Senators 17 th Amendment Passed 1913 Populist party dies out after election of 1896 Farm Prices Rise Third parties even when they fail to get Elected frequently address issues avoided by the Major parties

 Immigration Before the Civil War ◦ Colonial Times British, French, Germans, Dutch, Swedes, African slaves. ◦ After the Revolution: British, Germans (including a large number of Jews), Irish ◦ Latin Americans1848 after the Mexican War.

 Italy, Greece, Russia, Austria-Hungary and other southern and eastern European citizens.  Assimilation issue: new immigrants not trusted by Americans. ◦ Protestants vs Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox ◦ Did not speak English

 Population pressures  Recruitment campaigns  Economic conditions  Political Opposition  Enter the Immigrants from Asia ◦ 300,000 Chinese ◦ 150,000 Japanese

 Built railroads  Turned prairies and forests into farms  Made NYC a garment industry center  Opened Macys and Marshall Field’s  Manned the factories  Were scientists and inventors

 Nativism the belief that foreign born persons threatened the majority culture and should be barred from this country.  Know Nothings: 1849 political party favored restricting immigration.  The Yellow Peril: fear of the Chinese ◦ Chinese Exclusion Act ◦ 1908 Gentlemen’s Agreement

1882 Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 Pauper, Convicts, & mentally defective 1891 Prostitutes, polygamists & Diseased persons 1917 Literacy Test 1921 First quota law Limited to 3% of the # arriving In New Quota law 1.No Asians 2.No more than 150, % of the number arriving in 1890