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Blake's Works
The affects of the Industrial Revolution on Western Farmers
The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on Western Farmers. It resulted in farmers using new techniques to farm along with machines to, such as the Seed Drill, make farming more efficent. However, Corporate America became involved in farming which led the dieing out of family farming(The Effect of Industrialization on Farmers).
Reforms proposed
Oliver Hudson formed the Granger Orginization, which was formed to protect and help the farmers from unfair Railroad rate, falling crop prices, and other things that would hurt farmers. Mary Lease also fought for fairer railroad rates, but she also fought agaisnt morgage rates that put farmers at a disadvantage(Industrial Revolution).
Reasons for their postions/Differnces of Approaches
Oliver Hudson Kelly admired farmers, and wanted to form a political entity to give them some political power in the goverment. He sought to bring reform through a group effort that would eventrually gain enough popularity, so that they would be able to throw their weight around in politcs. The party he made, the Grange, quickly gained huge popularity amoung most farmers and the group spread like wildfire all throughout the west(Oliver Kelley Organizes the Grange).
Mary Lease got her drive to help farmers after he family attempted to become farmers, but there attempts at farming ended in failure. She took a slightly different route to seek reforms than Oliver. She was more boistures when it came to bringing awareness to her cause, going on rallies, and town hall meetings. Similarly to Oliver she started a politcal movement as well, know as the Populist movement. Both groups gained huge populrity amoungst family farmers, and wanted relativly the same thing for farmers(Mary Elizabeth Lease).
Results of the Reformers
The movement to help farmers was met with some success. The combined efforts of Oliver and Mary caused a law to be passed that would lower the rates that railroads could charge farmers to move their crops. However the success were short lived, a couple years later the laws were repealled( The 'people's Joan of Arc': Mary Elizabeth Lease, Gendered Politics and Populist Party Politics in Gilded-Age America pg 180).
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