American Agriculture In The Late 1800s Essay

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Throughout the late 1800's, American agriculture went through a magnitude of changes. W hile there were many different factors that led to these changes, they can be sorted primarily into three categories; Technological contributions, government policies, and economic conditions. The prominent technological advancements that influenced American agriculture were numerous, but chief among them were these; The rapidly spreading railroad systems, new machines and technology to make harvesting much easier, and factories with improved productivity and efficiency to more easily process the ever-increasing amounts of produce. The spread of trains and railroad tracks across the country was a large boost to the United State's internal trading capabilities. …show more content…

Any farmers who weren't able to produce a large enough crop to compete with other farmers would likely fall into debt. Plummeting crop prices were a large issue back in the day that many farmers didn't have the luck to avoid. Some of these farmers who fell into debt would end up working for larger farms. Renting land to farm on, their land owners providing them with enough food to get by while taking the majority of the profits for themselves. Many black farmers were sucked into this trap and were forced to work for their former slave masters in a never-ending quest to pay off their debts. One of the scariest prospects for farmers was that of a bad crop. If mother nature didn't smile on their fields, they very likely wouldn't have had the money or the food to make it through the tough times. A bad year for farming meant a bad year for the whole nation. Farmers rode out these troubles the best they could. Low prices for their produce, debt, and a bad crop were all potential disasters in the agricultural community. But farmers are tough people. In the end, the many different changes, both good and bad, helped grow the farming community in the United States. People were brought closer together, food was more abundant and available to the poor, a booming industry was being

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