The Granger Movement

The Granger Movement

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant facts and figures relating to the topic of Granger movement. The National Grange, or Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, was founded by Oliver Kelley in 1867. By 1875, the movement had ca. 800,000 national members. Individual local Granges established cooperative grain elevators, mills, and stores. Together, Grangers brought pressure on state legislatures to regulate the prices charged by railroads and grain elevators. The monopolistic railroads challenged the constitutional basis of these laws in what became known as “Granger cases.” In Munn v. Illinois (1876), the Supreme Court upheld the state legislation. The Granger movement declined with the rise of other organizations that represented the interests of farmers, such as the Greenback Party. The 20th century witnessed a resurgence of the movement and today there are more than 5000 local Granges in the United States. In the next section we will examine the factors that initiated Granger movement, we will examine also exmiane the history of Granger movement and its importance in 21st century.

Discussion & Analysis

History

Before analyzing the factors that initiated the Granger Movement, it is important to discuss the people who were involved in this movement. There were seven co-founders of the Grange: Oliver Hudson, Francis M. McDowell, Aaron B. Grosh, John Trimble, John R. Thompson, William M. Ireland and William Saunders. In 1865, Andrew Johnson, the president at that time, asked Oliver Hudson Kelly to visit south for the purpose of collecting agricultural information. Although he was a Mason but being a Northerner, Kelly was welcomed with mistrust and suspicion. During his stay at south, Kelly observed the need to establish a forum or organization that could cater the interests and needs of the farmers. Therefore, after discussion ...