Apush Essay

The period in America from 1865-1900 showed a time of rebuilding and great change. The reconstruction period that followed the Civil War gave America a basis to become a better nation. Americans during this period experienced dramatic changes, specifically farmers who had to adapt to technological, governmental, and economical changes. All these changes contributed to steady decline of American agriculture.

From 1865-1900 technology boomed in America. The railroads created the opportunity for farmers to send their product cross country to markets. From the fields to railroad cars was how the modern farmer was born. No longer did men carry their crops by horse carriage to local markets to sell, but rather sell their crops to much larger audience. Before the crops could be shipped they needed to be harvested. A man named Cyrus McCormick, a Virginia man, constructed a tool to improve field working conditions. The McCormick Reaper aided farmers by doing away with long backbreaking hours of harvesting fields. The mechanical reaper did the work of five men, saving precious time and money that American farmers did not have. The agricultural community improved because of the technological advances made during 1865-1900.

However, the economic conditions that many farmers faced were intolerable. With the invention of the railroad came the invention of shipping costs. Shipping costs were what train companies would charge farmers to ship their products to market. The early cost for shipping was outrageous; many farmers were unable to afford such high costs, ultimately propelling them into debt. With the advance of manufactures and factories the need for farming became less relied upon. The companies produced monopolies on supplies, thus raising the price of goods. This rise in prices was a death sentence to many farmers unable to make ends meet. The economic problems the agricultural community faced were inadvertently unavoidable, contributing to the decline of