1 ene 1867 año - Changes in Agriculture: Falling Prices; Rising Costs* (WXT)

Descripción:

As more countries like Argentina and Canada began producing large yields of crops, prices for crops in the United States dropped drastically while the value in the dollar grew. Where wheat once cost 2 dollars per bushel in 1867, the price plummeted (falling prices) for a bushel of wheat plummeted down to less than a dollar. Banks were charging high interest rates for loans which only pressured farmers to work harder and produce a larger yield of crops. But working harder did not really work out in favor of farmers, it really only lowered prices more and more. This led many farmers into debt, foreclosure, and many farmers living as tenants and sharecroppers. While crop prices fell, the cost of manufactured goods rose as many manufacturing companies established monopolistic trusts to keep their prices high. Wholesalers and retailers would charge higher prices to farmers in order to get their cut of the manufactured product while warehouses, railroads, and elevators funded themselves by fining discriminatory rates for shipment and storage of grains for farmers. Farmers were being asked to pay higher prices for necessities while the farmer’s profit dwindled. Not to mention, state governments were taxing property and land highly and tariffs were seen as another tax farmers had to pay in the expense of the industry. All in all, farmers were not making enough money given that the economy was praising industry, prices for manufactured products rose, and farmers were taxed heavily.

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