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Filmed as rAOAiimrl Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 7 4 -2 2 ,0 0 4 WILSON, N. James, 1941- THE FARMERS' SEARCH FOR ORDER (1880-1910), The University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., 1974 History, mo d e m University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © 1974 N. JAMES WILSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE FARMERS' SEARCH FOR ORDER (1880-1910) A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY N. JAMES WILSON Norman, Oklahoma 1974 THE FARMERS' SEARCH FOR ORDER APPRQ^D BY H ni f DISSERTATION COMMITTEE PREFACE In a subtle and sophisticated study, The Search For Order, Robert H. Wiebe in 1967 advanced the thesis that America from 1877 to 1920 was searching for order. Beneath all the surface ripples of rapid change there lay a deep-flowing current, which gave unity and meaning to the period as a whole. According to Wiebe these years "witnessed a fundamental s h ift in American values, from those of the small town in the 1880's to those of a new, bureaucratic-minded middle class by 1920."^ In commenting about the importance of this study, David Donald, a prom­ inent historian, noted that "for many years to come this will be not merely the standard book in its field, but the take-off book—the book that every serious student of American history w ill have read and pon­ dered, the book that will shape the pattern of future research and w riting on the whole broad era from 1877 to 1920."2 After reading and pondering The Search For Order this w riter came to the conclusion that Wiebe's description of Americans searching for stability might specifically be applied to farmers around the turn of the twentieth century. I have always been extremely interested in the attitudes and interests of agrarian people. The f ir s t seventeen years of my l i f e were spent on a small cotton farm in southeast Missouri. During these years on the farm, I encountered firsthand the d iffic u ltie s ^Robert Wiebe, The Search For Order (New York; H ill and Wang), p. v i i. ~Ib1u. , p, 1x. m and anxieties experienced by a rural society. Through the influence of Dr. Gilbert C. Fite, I began to concentrate on the farmers from approximately 1880 to 1910. Their difficulties and the painful attempts to solve their problems brought to mind similar experiences during the 1940's and 1950's in the "bootheel" of Missouri. In their search for order, farmers were forced to accept and adjust to the realities of an industrialized society. By 1880 the dynamic forces of industrialism and urbanism were beginning to profoundly affect the nature of rural life in the United States. Modern technol­ ogy introduced new types of economic disparities and social dislocations, which affected both the country and city. These forces necessitated adjustments in methods and attitudes on the part of the farmer. Many progressive farmers in the years from 1880-1910 accepted the challenge of industrial progress by recognizing that they could not remain s ta tic . They realized that they must adjust their operations and business prac­ tices to f it a rapidly changing economy. Many conservative farmers exhibited bewilderment and pessimism at the changes and refused to accept them. They continued to use traditional and outdated methods. Others met the problems squarely by adopting new techniques and arrange­ ments which emphasized efficiency and productivity. Not content to simply "stick their heads in the sand" and let the rest of the world go by, these progressive farmers o p tim istic ally searched fo r security and order by emulating the techniques and practices of the business community. Progressive farmers saw the necessity of fittin g their farming opera­ tions into industrial society. By adapting efficient and businesslike techniques to their own unique situation, many progressive farmers iv recognized that they would be in a much better position to compete successfully with others in society. In many ways, progressive farmers succeeded in adjusting to these profound changes and emulating business­ lik e methods. In what ways did farmers emulate the business community and in the process possibly achieve a measure of stability and order? As indus­ t r ia l developments forced farmers into a more commercialized position, with goods destined for distant markets, a train of new and complex problems developed. Farmers were thrown into competition with one another; they were forced to produce at the lowest possible cost. Having no way of fixing prices or controlling output, farmers were squeezed by high freight rates, monopolies, loan sharks, and commission men. Agricultural leaders convinced many progressive farmers that the only way they could fight their battles was by economic organization. Through the Grange and the Farmers' A lliance, agrarians established cooperative enterprises which would theoretically enable them to per­ form the function of middlemen, manufacturers, c a p ita lis ts , and bankers. Because of lack of capital and inexperience these ventures met with only short-lived success, but they encouraged successful cooperation after 1895. Many cooperatives organized at the turn of the century succeeded by avoiding the mistakes of the past and putting into prac­ tice businesslike techniques. In addition to cooperation, farmers attempted to adjust to com­ mercialization and urbanization through the introduction of labor and timesaving techniques. Farm mechanization increased efficiency in agriculture and was a major force in bringing more land under cultivation. V Improved machinery enabled farmers to produce up to and beyond market demand, enlarge their farms, reduce labor requirements and lightened farm t o il. The development and growth of rural free delivery of m ail, the telephone and automobile narrowed the gap between country and c ity and further encouraged farm efficiency. As commercialism exerted a greater impact, many progressive farmers began to identify more closely with the attitudes of business­ men. Farm journals,agricultural colleges and agricultural reformers constantly encouraged farmers to think more in terms of efficiency and increasing th e ir cash income. Using businessmen as a model, many pro­ gressive farmers became aware of th e ir own commercial proprietary interests. The changing attitudes of farm employers toward farm and city labor illustrated their empathy with businessmen. By viewing th e ir working force as a business problem, many farm owners sought to increase efficiency through contractual agreements, the utilization of mass labor and hiring of temporary seasonal migrants. Many owners coldly viewed farm laborers as factors of production in achieving a desired resu lt. S tra tific a tio n of employers and workers resulted in a great deal of impersonalization. Also, a growing gap developed between farm owners and city workers. Labor's agitation for shorter hours and higher pay seemed to offend some of the deepest convictions of the farmer, who had to work long hours on his own enterprise. And fin a lly , by responding to educational forces which encouraged scientific techniques, progressive farmers conserved their soil, suc­ cessfully combatted plant diseases and insects and introduced new and better varieties of crops. The Department of Agriculture, land grant vi colleges, experiment stations, journals and private businesses encouraged economic advancement by sending out technical experts and professionals who taught and illustrated techniques which would increase efficiency and production. Not by choice but through necessity and urgency, the more progressive and advanced farmers emerged as businessmen by 1910. In addition to physical adjustments, farmers mentally came to terms with in d u stria lizatio n . While denouncing big business in exagger­ ated terms and at the same time reaffirming their own moral and physical p u rity , farmers nonetheless accepted and emulated industrial techniques.