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== The Grange Movement ==

== The Grange Movement ==

Not everyone in America was happy with Republican dominance in the White House, and unregulated free enterprise in the economy.  Many farmers, for example, that railroads were charging prices that were too high.  From 1867 to 1874, there was a political movement for states to regulate the prices charged by railroads, which was led by "Granger" politicians.  A leader in "The Grange Movement" was Oliver Kelley, a former official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Initially the Grange was devoted to social gatherings and educational programs for farmers, who otherwise had a somewhat isolated and tedious lifestyle.  

Not everyone in America was happy with Republican dominance in the White House, and unregulated free enterprise in the economy.  Many farmers, for example, felt that railroads were charging prices that were too high.  From 1867 to 1874, there was a political movement for States to regulate the prices charged by railroads, which was led by "Granger" politicians.  A leader in "The Grange Movement" was Oliver Kelley, a former official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Initially the Grange was devoted to social gatherings and educational programs for farmers, who otherwise had a somewhat isolated and tedious lifestyle.  

In many ways farmers in the 1870s were like homeschoolers today:  divided and lacking in political force.  The Grange Movement attempted to change that.  When there was a financial crisis known as the Panic of 1873, the Grange surged in popularity among farmers who had too much debt and expensive rates to ship their products on the railroads.  Popularity grew in the farm states of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and the Grangers were able to pass "Granger laws" to regulate the railroads for the benefit of farmers.<ref>http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h854.html</ref>

In many ways farmers in the 1870s were like homeschoolers today:  divided and lacking in political force.  The Grange Movement attempted to change that.  When there was a financial crisis known as the Panic of 1873, the Grange surged in popularity among farmers who had too much debt and faced expensive rates to ship their goods on the railroads.  Popularity grew in the farm States of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and the Grangers were able to pass "Granger laws" to regulate the railroads and storage facilities for the benefit of farmers.<ref>http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h854.html</ref>

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 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 later lawsuit brought by the railroads to challenge state regulations of the terms it placed in its contracts, the Wabash case (1886), invalidated the state regulation and put the farmers almost back to where they started.  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", regulates railroad rates and terms 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 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 later lawsuit brought by the railroads to challenge State regulations of the terms it placed in its contracts, the ''Wabash'' case (1886), invalidated the State regulation and put the farmers almost back to where they started with respect to the power of States to regulate for their benefit.  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", regulates 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 more powerful 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 more powerful 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).