Changes

The owner of a grain elevator (which charges farmers to store their grain) fought an Illinois Granger law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in ''Munn v. Illinois'', decided in 1876.  That decision upheld the power of States to regulate (lower or limit increases in) the rates charged by grain warehouses or any other public facility made available for the general public good, such as railroads.  This ruling in favor of the farmers energized the populist movement.  But a subsequent lawsuit brought by the railroads to challenge State regulation of railroad contracts, the ''Wabash'' case (1886), invalidated the State regulation and put the farmers back to square one (powerless to regulate).  The ''Wabash'' case led to the federal government ultimately intervening in favor of the farmers by creating the Interstate Commerce Commission in the Interstate Commerce Act (1887).  This new federal agency, known by its initials as the "ICC", regulated railroad rates and the terms of use in its contracts with the public.

The owner of a grain elevator (which charges farmers to store their grain) fought an Illinois Granger law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in ''Munn v. Illinois'', decided in 1876.  That decision upheld the power of States to regulate (lower or limit increases in) the rates charged by grain warehouses or any other public facility made available for the general public good, such as railroads.  This ruling in favor of the farmers energized the populist movement.  But a subsequent lawsuit brought by the railroads to challenge State regulation of railroad contracts, the ''Wabash'' case (1886), invalidated the State regulation and put the farmers back to square one (powerless to regulate).  The ''Wabash'' case led to the federal government ultimately intervening in favor of the farmers by creating the Interstate Commerce Commission in the Interstate Commerce Act (1887).  This new federal agency, known by its initials as the "ICC", regulated railroad rates and the terms of use in its contracts with the public.

The Grange Movement reached its zenith (peak) in 1875.  It then began to decline as its activists started other organizations: the Greenback Party (in the 1870s), the Farmers' Alliances (in the 1880s) and the Populist Party (in the 1890s, which eventually joined with the Democratic Party).

The Grange Movement reached its zenith (peak) in 1875.  It then began to decline as its activists started other organizations: the Greenback Party (in the 1870s), the Farmers' Alliances (in the 1880s) and the Populist Party (in the 1890s, which eventually merged into the Democratic Party).

'''Debate:  Do you think government should be able to set the rates charged by railroads and other "public facilities"?'''

'''Debate:  Do you think government should be able to set the rates charged by railroads and other "public facilities"?'''