1.9 Developments in Agriculture Flashcards
How did the population in rural areas change?
Well over half the population lived in rural areas, and the number of people living on farms rose from about 10 million in 1865 to 25 million by 1890.
What changes in agriculture was there as a result of industrialisation?
The population grew, and the railroads expanded, more and more land was brought under cultivation; the number of farms doubled.
What government actions encouraged the development of agriculture?
The Homestead Act of 1862 made hundreds of thousands of acres available as free land to settlers. People could claim 160 acres of land if they farmed in for 5 years.
How did the railroad companies make big profits from Westward expansion?
They bought up large tracts of land and sold the land to settlers.
How did the scale of farms change during this period?
In 1865 most farms were small, household farms but there was a steady increase in large-scale commercial agriculture and the development of new markets.
What helped developments in agriculture?
Technological advances, such as refrigeration, and the development of new machinery, such as reapers, threshers, and wire binders. the Department of Agriculture carried out research and encouraged the spread of agricultural colleges.
What problems did farmers face?
They had little control over prices and depended more and more on finance from banks, railroad companies, and local merchants, both for investment and for getting their produce to distant markets. They were very vulnerable to the fluctuations of the market, as was shown by the period of depression that followed the financial Panic of 1873.
What caused the Panic of 1873?
The rapid economic expansion of the US outstripped the system of banking and finance. Both agriculture and industry depended on investment and loans in order to expand and innovate; but banks were mostly small, did not have enough money in reserve, and frequently went broke. There was little or no regulation and a lot of wild financial speculation. It was this kind of speculation, especially on railroads, that led to a nationwide financial crash.
What happened during the Panic of 1873?
Stock market prices collapsed (which affected Europe as well as the US), many banks failed, and economic enterprises were badly hit, leading to years of economic depression.
What did agriculture benefit from in the North and the East?
The expanding markets in the growing towns and cities.
What are examples of expanding markets in towns and cities in the North?
By the 1880s, cities like Chicago and Pittsburgh were the hubs of a wide distribution network, shipping meat products, cereals, and canned foods to the urban Northeast, and timber for construction on the treeless Great Plains. Wisconsin was a centre of large-scale dairy production.
What was the problem with railroads in relation to expanding markets in the North?
The railroad companies had monopoly power and set freight rates as high as they pleased.
How did small farmers struggle in the South?
They were often unable to buy or to keep their own land and falling back into being tenant farmers. They struggled to gain access to loans, or to get their produce to market directly, without being controlled and exploited by larger businesses.
What economic development was there in the ‘New South’?
There was railroad expansion, and cotton, tobacco, and sugar remained major commodities for export. Trade and shipping expanded in ports like Mobile in Alabama, Charleston in South Carolina, and New Orleans in Louisiana.
What problems were there with Southern agriculture?
Like the economy generally, it lagged behind the rest of the country. Few immigrants were tempted to settle in the South; in 1879, thousands of black farmers moved away to Kansas in search of greater opportunities.
