Change in the Countryside: The Granger Movement and the Rural Community

‘The Grange Awakening the Sleepers.’ American cartoon, 1873. Photograph retrieved from fineartamerica.com

By Jake Corso  

 

We have come to the Grange, where ’tis joyful to meet.

 Our friends and companions in unity sweet;

Then Patrons, in joy, come gather around.              

Concord and harmony with us be found!

Down with the spite and the hate that estrange.

And long live the peace that we find at the Grange.

  • Grange Ode, 1877

The members of the Grange opened many of their meetings with this ode that celebrated  and reaffirmed the new community they had built. The Grange, more formally known as the Patrons of Husbandry, was an organization founded in the late 1860s in response to the technological advancements and eastern investment that followed the American Civil War. These developments threatened the rural lifestyle that existed prior to the 1860s. Members of the Grange met at meeting halls where they discussed a host of topics, and organized social gatherings. Farmers established the Grange to rebuild a lost sense of community in the countryside. The Grange boomed in the late 1870s when it addressed the major concerns facing rural communities. However, as farmers faced economic pressures, the Grange underwent a change in character and purpose. Farmers and other members of the rural community used the Grange to adapt to the dynamic nineteenth century.

Technological change and eastern finance upended the communal aspect of nineteenth-century rural life. Prior to the Civil War, rural life consisted of “extended kin-networks and community-based webs of mutual cooperation.”[1] Traditionally, farmers exchanged goods and services in a pre-industrial barter economy. According to historian Erik Reardon, the barter economy provided farmers with, “a system of local exchange that allowed for a comfortable level of subsistence.”[2] Farmers frequently labored together in the field. For instance, if one farmer needed help with harvesting, other members of the community would pitch in. This relationship centered around reciprocity; a farmer who received help was expected to return the favor if anyone in the community faced the same troubles.

The foundation of the farmers’ local economy was threatened by a series of challenges in the mid-nineteenth century. Historian Noam Maggor argues these challenges arose because “eastern money migrated across the continent,” which brought many rural communities into “the economic orbit of the United States.”[3] Rural farmers were now exposed to market forces that caused them to shift from subsistence farming to production for the United States agricultural market. As this shift dramatically changed the social lives of rural communities, farmers looked for methods to increase their productivity and efficiency. They utilized new technologies such as the cast iron plow to develop a competitive edge. The cast iron plow “increased productivity by 50%,” which greatly reduced the need for farmers to work together in the fields.[4]

The farmers who adapted the quickest soon gained an economic advantage in the agricultural market. These market-oriented farmers expanded and consolidated their land, which left many traditional farmers with a difficult choice of whether or not to stay in farming. Many members of rural communities could no longer make a suitable living. They had no choice but to try their luck in the cities. In 1790, over 90% of the United States’ population was engaged in farming: by 1880, that percentage plummeted to 42%.[5] In less than a century, rural life had dramatically changed. The rural population was swiftly decimated, and the communal aspect of agrarian life faded away. The Grange movement was established to repair the social fabric of the rural community.

The strength of the early Grange movement was its inclusive membership. Grangers desired to build back the farming communities of old. Therefore, the members of the early Patrons of Husbandry were very lenient regarding who could become a member. The typical Grange was open to full-time farmers as well as, “town-dwellers, part-time farmers, and professional men who dabbled in the agricultural arts for leisure.”[6] Records from Grange meetings show the diverse occupations of its members. According to Stephe Smith’s minutes of a meeting, judges, lawyers, and schoolmasters were participants.[7] Additionally, the Patrons of Husbandry were extremely progressive regarding the treatment of women. To establish a Grange, four members of the head council or committee were required to be women.[8] Even women members outside of these offices exercised influence on the Grange. The St. Louis Grange adopted the slogan, “Give women in the Grange equal voice and vote.”[9] Due to these campaigns, female members received and used their right to vote in Grange meetings. A poster titled, “A Gift for the Grangers” features women in prominent positions while the Grange was in session.[10] In addition to women, young adults were encouraged to join the Patrons of Husbandry. The founder of the National Grange, Oliver Kelley, wanted members as young as fourteen, regardless of gender, to join the Grange to stop them from “flocking to the cities.”[11] The Grange sought to bring together as many members of the rural community as possible.

Despite the Grange’s inclusivity in terms of gender, profession, and age, the organization was not diverse in terms of race. Most members tended to be white. While most Grange’s did not explicitly exclude African Americans from joining, it was clear where some Grange’s stood on the issue of race. Especially in the South, members of the Patrons of Husbandry feared the increased agricultural competition from newly freed slaves. Members of the Alabama State Grange advocated for more white European immigrants to join the organization so that they could compete with “African bone and muscle.”[12] Implicit policies such as these discouraged African Americans from joining. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the lack of diversity of its members by race, the early Patrons of Husbandry exploded in popularity among white rural communities in the United States.

The social events organized by Patrons of Husbandry established a community among its members. One popular event was a Granger fair. The Alabama State fair organized by the state Grange was reportedly “well attended” by members of the community.[13] Games, songs, parades, along with vendors selling goods were commonplace at these fairs. Other Granges were well known for their “Granger picnics.” Granger picnics featured “auctions, barn raising…wrestling, stick pulling, broad jumping, horseshoes” and other activities.[14] Granger picnics brought many members of the community together to enjoy one another’s company. One supporter of the Patrons of Husbandry remarked, “The country[side] must learn all over again the art of… working together. I firmly believe that by playing together we can learn how to work together.”[15] Other Grange members felt similarly. While these events were special occasions, the common meetings at the Grange Halls also acted as social gatherings. According to historian William Warren Rogers, women members, in particular, found these meetings to be, “a real source of social enjoyment.”[16] Other members used the time to discuss agricultural practices, gossip, news, along with economic matters. The Grange movement became the hub of social relations in many rural communities of the United States.

The members of the early Grange used the meetings to promote educational development in their communities. The meetings offered many opportunities for attendees to receive quality education unheard of in rural communities. Argus and Patriot, a local newspaper located in Vermont, reported, “[Grange] members were learning to read, act, and think for themselves and to pay cash for goods.”[17] The Patrons of Husbandry worked to equip farmers with the skills they needed to survive in a market economy. Guest lecturers were extremely popular events at these meetings. One of the most common topics lectured on was new planting practices. The Alabama State branch paid for guest speakers who explained the benefits of crop diversification to members.[18] Other lectures showed off new tools and technologies such as the cast-iron plow and advancements in irrigation. One-part advertisement and one-part educational experience, these lecturers exposed farmers to “scientific agriculture.”[19] Members also took steps to ensure the education of future generations of farmers. Grange committees passed budgets which allocated funds to purchase schoolbooks for schoolhouses and libraries in the community.[20] In addition, they offered salaries which enticed teachers to move to and establish schools in the countryside. The Grange worked to create a rural community that could succeed in a market-oriented future.

Farmers effectively combined the Grange’s educational and social aspects into a formula which excited and engaged members of the rural community. For instance, in Northfield, Minnesota, a general meeting attracted 5,000 members who made up a mile-long procession.[21] The social events also exploded in popularity. At least 6,000 people attended a Grange Picnic in New Jersey with some reports claiming up to 10,000 people.[22] Out of all the members, women were the most vocal about their satisfaction with the Grange. A popular story told in Grange newspapers described a pair of wives who were sent by their husbands to scope out a Grange meeting. According to the story, the women enjoyed the meetings greatly and worked to delay their husbands’ entry into the Patrons of Husbandry. These women used the Grange meetings as an excuse for their husbands to take care of children and household chores.[23] Further, scores of members enjoyed the wide variety of Grange lectures. These lectures facilitated farmers to subscribe in record numbers to publications which promoted “scientific agriculture.” In their article, Historian Denis Nordin explains, “at the height of the First Granger movement, numerous new agricultural journals appeared, doubling the number of such periodicals in the United States.”[24] As the Grange expanded, new members joined in earnest. Yet, these members were not interested solely in the social and educational aspect of the Grange. What they were interested in was politics.

The Financial Panic of 1873 brought politics into the Granger movement. Following the end of the American Civil War and Franco-Prussian War in Europe, crop prices collapsed, which placed economic pressure on rural communities. Farmers used the Patrons of Husbandry to express their worry about an uncertain future. The Patrons of Husbandry’s character shifted dramatically during this time. By 1877, “[Grange] membership was restricted, almost exclusively, to actual working farmers.”[25] These new members threatened to undermine the ideological stability of the Patrons of Husbandry.

Discussions at the Grange were markedly different from the topics during the early years of its foundation. Economic concerns began to dominate conversations at Grange meetings. Farmers were outraged over the lack of paper currency in circulation, increased taxes, and the stranglehold the railroad monopolies held over rural economies.[26] They were convinced the only way to better their position was through the ballot box. Historian Charles Gardner explained, “from the very beginning of the Grange its basic law ha[d] contained a stern prohibition against the discussion… of political questions, the naming of candidates, or expressing Grange endorsement of such candidates.”[27] Historian Glenn P. Lauzon observed that new members expressed their desire to, “press [the Grange] forward for political purposes.”[28] The Patrons of Husbandry quickly transformed into a focal point of rural political activity despite the previous ban of political matters. Political hopefuls descended on the Grange and were given prominent speaking time during meetings. Local republican and democrat politicians were determined to align themselves with farmers’ interests, as these politicians talked about confronting railroad monopolies and increasing the supply of paper currency. At Grange meetings, politicians stumped and expressed their willingness to, “‘do or die for the cause of the farmer.’”[29] The Patrons of Husbandry had transformed into a new organization. Members sacrificed the Grange’s inclusiveness and educational atmosphere for a political and isolated environment. This indicates that the Grange was a reflexive organization which quickly adapted to suit the needs of its newer members.

Farmers initially formed the Granger movement as a response to the social upheaval in rural communities. They were forced to adapt to changing social, political, and economic realities. The Patrons of Husbandry successfully forged new communities which were lost due to the rural population’s exodus to the cities. Farmers sought to improve themselves through education on the most efficient planting techniques to succeed in the new market economy. When the market economy failed farmers, they reinvented the Patrons of Husbandry to advance their economic interests in the political realm. This shift in ideology led to the Grange’s demise. As membership in the Grange plummeted, members experienced an identity crisis. Grangers who wanted the movement to be a political force were disappointed and left to join organizations like the Farmers’ Alliance or the Populist Party. Those who remained were unable to replicate the same communal lifestyle as before. Additionally, a series of ill-advised financial decisions further made the ideologically fragmented Grange unsustainable.  The history of the Grange is a reminder of the problems experienced by organizations facing change. The Grange’s strength was its reliance on tradition. The Patrons of Husbandry and countless other organizations collapsed because they could no longer satisfy the needs of the communities who created them.

 


Endnotes

 

[1] Erik Reardon, “Fishing and the Rural Economy Farmer-Fishermen and the Merrimack River 1800–1846,” The New England Quarterly 1 (2016): 59.

[2] Reardon, “Fishing and the Rural Economy,” 59.

[3] Noam Maggor, “To Coddle and Caress These Great Capitalists: Eastern Money, Frontier Populism, and the Politics of Market-Making in the American West,” American Historical Review 1 (2017): 55.

[4] Martin Bruegel, “The Social Relations of Farming in the Early American Republic: A Microhistorical Approach,” Journal of the Early Republic 26 (2006): 546.

[5] Caru Browns and Alison Stevenson, “Toward Small Town Revitalization in the Middle Susquehanna River Valley: Re-Assessing Historic and Regional Resources for Collaborative Development,” International Society for Landscape, Place & Material Culture 2 (2010): 5.

[6] Glenn P. Lauzon, “Indefinite Foundings and Awkward Transitions,” American Educational History Journal ½ (2012): 233.

[7] Stephe R. Smith, Grains for the Grangers: Discussing All Points Bearing upon the Farmers’ Movement for the Emancipation of White Slaves from the Slave-Power of Monopoly (New York: United States Book Company, 1873), 40-45.

[8] Charles M. Gardner, The Grange, Friend of the Farmer; a Concise Reference History of America’s Oldest Farm Organization, and the Only Rural Fraternity in the World, 1867-1947 (Washington: National Grange, 1950), 196.

[9] Gardner, Friend of the Farmer, 197.

[10] “A Gift for the Grangers,” 1873.

[11] Oliver H. Kelley and Bert S. Morse, Origin and Progress of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry in the United States: a History from 1866 to 1873 (Syracuse, NY: New York State Grange, 1987), 39.

[12] William Warren Rogers, “The Alabama State Grange,” Alabama Review 1 (2016): 16-17.

[13] Rogers, “The Alabama State Grange,” 18.

[14] Lee F. Hammer, “Recreation and Sociability in the Country,” Journal of Education 14 (1950): 370.

[15] Ibid., 371.

[16] Rogers, “The Alabama State Grange,” 15.

[17] “Grange Meeting,” Argus and Patriot, December 5, 1877, 2.

[18] Rogers, “The Alabama State Grange,” 16.

[19] Dennis S. Nordin, “A Revisionist Interpretation of the Patrons of Husbandry, 1867-1900,” Historian 4 (1970): 640.

[20] “Ohio Grange,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, February 20, 1874, 1.

[21] “Summary of the News” Argus and Patriot, July 3, 1873, 2.

[22] “A Granger Picnic in Jersey. From 6,000 to 10,000 People Assembled-Mottoes of Lodges Represented-a Tame Affair,” New York Herald, September 5, 1874, 5.

[23] “News and Gossip,” Easton Gazette, February 20, 1875, 2.

[24] Nordin, “A Revisionist Interpretation,” 638.

[25] Lauzon, “Indefinite Foundings,” 223.

[26] Lauzon, “Indefinite Foundings,” 236.

[27] Gardner, Friend of the Farmer, 337.

[28] Lauzon, “Indefinite Foundings,” 236.

[29] Lauzon, “Indefinite Foundings,” 236.

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