Farmers And Workers example essay topic

America – Post Depression America – Post Depression Essay, Research Paper By 1900, the farmers of the West and the South were struggling financially due to the new urban economy. This was due to troubles with the strikes, a large surplus, and tariffs. Besides the farmers, workers were also having problems at the turn of the century. Due to the Depression of 1893 and the "let nature-take-its-course' philosophy of the federal government, the majority of the American middle-class suffered in the late 1800's. The federal government was both directly and indirectly involved with almost all of the people's troubles as they were bias against farmers and workers during this time period.

Many working class Americans found themselves at a difference with the national government. With different views on issues, the average working man was at a loss when trying to understand the government's mentality concerning various topics. One of these controversial issues was the proper usage of striking. Workers believed that the strike remained the only option of defense against the dominating trusts and other industrial companies. The government, on the other hand, believed that strikes accomplished no goals, and were simply a burden to the country's progress.

One example of this discrepancy of views was the Pullman strike. At the time, Pullman deemed it necessary to cut back on the workers wages to benefit the overall income of the company. With this action, Pullman decreased a workers salary to approximately one third of a workers original wage. Outraged by such a steep salary cut, workers of his company went on strike.

News of the strike spread to other cities, and as a result, Pullman cars were denied service and repairs. This widespread strike prevented the mail from efficiently circulating. Taking offensive measures Cleveland called in troops to break the amounting crowds. As a result to these actions, the working Americans were shown that a peaceful protest could achieve nothing. To see that their one counteracting defense against the industrialist monopolists was useless, American workers were greatly disheartened. The Pullman Strike was an example of the American government holding a based nature against the American workers near the end of the 19th century.

The "blue-collar' workers of this time period were also suffering during this era. The federal government was not necessarily directly related to their problems, but they could have helped. An epidemic of strikes were breaking out across the nation. Wages were being cut, privileges abandoned, and workers were being forced to work under horrible terms. Monopolies were banding together to form high-powered trusts that could dominate a single industry by themselves. When the workers fought back, the government came in and stopped the violence.

During the Homestead Strike of 1892, federal troops were summoned to come and break up a violent strike and a workers union. They paid no regard to the reason why the workers were striking. The trusts were a major part of the national economy and it was in the best interest of the country to keep the factories running. When the Depression of 1893 struck, millions of middle class workers were hit hard. The government stood and watched as millions were suffering because they had adopted a "let nature take its course' philosophy. They thought the country would be best fit to let the Depression fix itself rather than step in and help the people.

The McKinley Tariff Bill of 1890 also significantly affected the farmers and workers of the late 19th century. The Tariff Bill was proposed by the Republicans, and under this tariff, Americans were forced to pay the highest peacetime rate in the nation's history at 48.4 percent on dutiable goods. However, the tax on manufactured goods had a profound impact on the working class. The tax eliminated much of the competition for Eastern manufacturers. Subsequent to this, they were free to raise prices as they pleased, as the competition no longer existed. As a result, working class Americans now found it more difficult to pay for these manufactured items.

In addition, Farmers were not being paid for their surplus; which caused a decrease in profits. Due to the judgment of the government, farmers and workers received the sour end of the deal. During the late 19th century, the government often made decisions that negatively affected the farmers and workers of America. The use of federal troops to break strikes, the enforcement on tariffs such as the McKinley tariff, and the gold standard problem were all troubles created by the US government. The federal government did show bias toward farmers and workers in the decisions and actions they took in solving the economical problems of the late 19th century.