Politics and the Depression of the 1890's

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Politics and the Depression of the 1890’s Leonard A. Johnson Grantham University Abstract In this paper I will try or to explains what effect the depression of the 1890s had on the political tensions at the turn of the century. In order to do this we also need to know what caused the depression in the first place. Before the 1890s there was an industrial boom that over took the agriculture industry. Railroads were expanding out to all points of America, and the debate was stirring on the coinage of silver as the national standard in America. Could all these things have come together to cause one of the greatest depression that America had felt? Many citizens revolted against their elected leaders and large discontent rose in America during this time period. New political factions rose in the era. Could this have been the birth of the progressive movement? The depression of the 1890’s ruined banks, farms, and many of the train leaders were declaring bankruptcy during this time period. Prior to 1890, the Industrial Revolution was outpacing farms. The farmers of the 1890s in the south weren’t getting the price for their cotton to break even. This also happened to the farmers of the Midwest with the wheat harvest. Strikes by workers crippled some parts of the nation when the grain and livestock couldn’t reach the market place. Factories shut down due to lack of coal to power them. Unions that went on strike used violence as their way of protest, and federal troops had to be called in to quite the violence. At this time in history, the citizens were supporting the unions even if they were young in their infancy. However with all the riots and violence, they lost the support of the public In 1890, law after law was passed in the Republican Congress, massive spending towards grants and appropriations. Also the congress passed the Sherman Antitrust act which
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