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The '''Grange''' or '''Patrons of Husbandry''' is an American organization of farmers that originated in New York in 1873 and is still active. It is also active in Canada.
The '''Grange''' or '''Patrons of Husbandry''' is an American organization of farmers that originated in New York in 1873 and is still active. It is also active in Canada.
[[File:Yeoman.jpg|thumb|300px|romantic image of hard-working, prosperous, independent yeoman farmer; from 1873 Grange poster]]
==Politics==
==Politics==
Independent farmers in the North and West, led by Nahum Bachelder and the National Grange, were a significant force in the [[Progressive Movement]] of the early 20th century. Bachelder, of New Hampshire, joined the Grange in 1877, and was Republican governor of New Hampshire in 1903 and 1904. Under his leadership the Grange grew from 285,000 dues-paying members in 1905 to one million members in 1911, and it wielded considerable influence with the Republican Party. The Grange's reputation suffered, however, from revelations in 1911 that two lobbyists had manipulated it. The Grange's influence declined quickly and Bachelder retired from it altogether.<ref> </ref>
The Grange generally avoided politics before 1900, but in 1881 it strongly opposed the nomination of Stanley Matthews (1824-89) to the U.S. Supreme Court, because his ties to the railroad industry could endanger state laws regulating freight rates. Matthews was confirmed in the Senate by a single vote after the Grange lobbied vigorously in opposition through its publications and its state organizations.
Independent farmers in the northeast and California, led by Nahum Bachelder and the National Grange, were a significant force in the [[Progressive Movement]] of the early 20th century. Bachelder, a New Hampshire farmer, joined the Grange in 1877, and was Republican governor of New Hampshire in 1903 and 1904. Under his leadership the Grange grew from 285,000 dues-paying members in 1905 to one million members in 1911, and it wielded considerable influence with the Republican Party. The Grange's reputation suffered, however, from revelations in 1911 that two lobbyists had manipulated it. The Grange's influence declined quickly and Bachelder retired from it altogether.<ref>A. R. Riggs, and Tom Velk, New Hampshire Governor Nahum J. Bachelder and the Grange in Progressive Politics, 1905-1912. Historical New Hampshire; 2000 55(3-4): 76-89, </ref>
When [[Harry Truman]]'s Secretary of Agriculture Charles Brannan in 1949 proposed a plan of direct assistance to small farmers, he justified it by reasserting the importance of the small family farmer as the foundation of American democracy. However in the Grange small farmers opposed the plan because it too closely resembled welfare and would undermine their self image as independent [[yeomen]] and successful entrepreneurs. Brannan sought to protect the small farmer against competition from the large companies, but the plan was not accepted by Congress because farmers self-image would not allow for welfare.<ref> Karen J. Bradley, "Agrarian Ideology and Agricultural Policy: California Grangers and the Post-world War II Farm Policy Debate," ''Agricultural History'' 1995 69(2): 240-256, [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3744267 in JSTOR]</ref>
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Schneiberg, Marc et al. "Social Movements and Organizational Form: Cooperative Alternatives to Corporations in the American Insurance, Dairy, and Grain Industries," ''American Sociological Review'' 2008 73(4): 635-667, theoretical essay
* Schneiberg, Marc et al. "Social Movements and Organizational Form: Cooperative Alternatives to Corporations in the American Insurance, Dairy, and Grain Industries," ''American Sociological Review'' 2008 73(4): 635-667, theoretical essay