What was the conflict between farmers and railroads?


What was the conflict between farmers and railroads? First, farmers claimed that farm prices were falling and, as a consequence, so were their incomes. They generally blamed low prices on over-production. Second, farmers alleged that monopolistic railroads and grain elevators charged unfair prices for their services.


How were farmers dependent on the railroads?

The railroads provided the efficient, relatively cheap transportation that made both farming and milling profitable. They also carried the foodstuffs and other products that the men and women living on the single-crop bonanza farms needed to live.


Did railroads help or hurt farmers?

The railroads provided the efficient, relatively cheap transportation that made both farming and milling profitable. They also carried the foodstuffs and other products that the men and women living on the single-crop bonanza farms needed to live.


How did the railroad affect farmers?

Steel rails linked the farms and the mills. The railroads provided the efficient, relatively cheap transportation that made both farming and milling profitable. They also carried the foodstuffs and other products that the men and women living on the single-crop bonanza farms needed to live.


What problems did the railroads impose on farmers?

Railroads discriminated in the prices they charged to passengers and shippers in different localities by providing rebates to large shippers or buyers. These practices were especially harmful to American farmers, who lacked the shipment volume necessary to obtain more favorable rates.


Why were farmers angry with the railroads?

Small businesses and farmers were protesting that the railroads charged them higher rates than larger corporations, and that the railroads were also setting higher rates for short hauls than for long-distance hauls.


Why did farmers blame railroads?

The Complaints of Farmers First, farmers claimed that farm prices were falling and, as a consequence, so were their incomes. They generally blamed low prices on over-production. Second, farmers alleged that monopolistic railroads and grain elevators charged unfair prices for their services.


How did railroads hurt the small farmer?

Railroads helped farmers by shipping crops to new markets but hurt farmers by charging high shipping rates.


What did farmers want the government to do about railroads?

At first, the farmers wanted the government to control prices on the railroads. Later, the farmers began to demand that the government own the railroads. The farmers decided they had to have an organization. They formed several organizations.


What was the biggest obstacle to the railroad?

Builders of the transcontinental railroad faced geographical obstacles across the entire line. But none were quite as formidable as the snowy granite mountain range rising east of Sacramento.