Although often depicted in idyllic and pastoral fashion, rural life in the early 20th century witnessed much strife, hard work, and perseverance as American society underwent sweeping social and economic transformations. Frequently, this period in American history has been presented from the perspective of those at the center of these economic changes—urban dwellers, laborers, immigrants, or capitalists. But it is also useful to consider the daily lives of those on the periphery of the major economic changes taking place, men and women in rural communities. The major social and economic changes that rural areas faced during the early part of the 20th century stemmed from the rapid urbanization of American society, the growth of mass production industry, and the growing power of corporations in economic life.
Throughout many rural communities, the emergence of the United States as an urban nation brought many fears to rural residents. Rural America long had embraced the values of Protestantism, and the advent and triumph of more secular urban culture threatened to undermine the values that rural dwellers held dear. Still, rural communities also received radio waves, national magazines, and mail order catalogs that invited them to participate in the emerging consumer culture. Many within rural communities feared cities, because they viewed them as breeding grounds for atheism, sexual license, and radicalism. Despite rural reaction to consumer culture, the young of rural communities faced declining opportunities to own their own farms or even find a job. They continued to vote with their feet by migrating to urban centers for school and work.
The economic changes taking place meant that banks and agricultural corporations, or agribusinesses, had a new hold on rural life. The growing presence and power of corporate monopolies gave farmers places to borrow money from, market their goods, or buy crop insurance. It threatened their sense of local autonomy, and rural residents had to decide on the best course of action. New forces were at work, as mail-order catalogs and government agents challenged their ability to shape and control the communities in which they lived.
Increasingly after 1900, urban-industrial America became the most prosperous sector of society, and its consumer culture and commodities steadily penetrated the countryside. Although farmers had difficulty raising capital and lacked banking facilities, currency, and credit during the 1890s, the new century brought a wave of prosperity to rural areas that would last until shortly after the end of World War I. The increasing demand for agricultural products and better transportation to foreign markets meant farmers had new opportunities to market their goods. As a result, the U. S. Department of agriculture estimated in 1920 that the average rural family had income to buy consumer goods such as clothing and foodstuffs. It produced only 40 percent of what it consumed, down from 60 percent 20 years earlier.
During this “Golden Age” of agriculture, farmers spent most of their newfound income on consumer goods to improve their standard of living. For instance, they often made their homes more livable by buying carpets, drapes, wallpaper, vacuum cleaners, and new furniture. They also found themselves installing such modern conveniences as electricity, indoor plumbing, or a telephone. Henry Ford targeted rural families as a prime costumer for his Model T, which sold for about $240. While many rural residents, especially farmers, found work-related uses for the Model Ts they purchased, they were used as well for leisure and play. Beyond buying an automobile, many farmers, having witnessed the economic difficulties of the late 19th century, remained hesitant to invest in capital improvements, whether in expanding their landholdings or in purchasing new technologies.
The populists and farm organizations such as the American Farm Bureau long had championed the need for low-interest loans to help promote and make affordable the capital improvements needed to expand individual farms. Before the United States entered the First World War, the federal government responded to this demand, recognizing that the growing market for American agricultural goods while Europe was at war, required an expansion in farm production. Few farmers expanded their operations prior to the war, meaning that average farm size remained flat between 1900 and 1916. In an effort to overcome this obstacle, the Federal Farm Loan Act created the mechanism to extend low-interest loans for periods of five to 40 years to farmers through the control of a Federal Farm Loan Board—12 Federal Land Banks that paralleled the Federal Reserve Banks. As part of Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom initiative, the Federal Farm Loan Act extended loans to farmers through a program that cut out private banks, which farmers viewed as outside institutions that easily exploited vulnerable farmers.
Although the First World War had created an expanded market for American agricultural goods and brought the
A rural farm family (Library of Congress)
Means to borrow capital for expanding landholdings, the cessation of hostilities in Europe caused the market to contract. When farm production in Europe resumed, governments faced a capital shortage as they rebuilt their war-torn nations. Imports were down. With shifting market conditions during the 1920s, agricultural prices in the United States steadily declined. While lower prices for many consumer goods such as automobiles resulted in increased demand, most people did not purchase more bread as its price dropped. Many rural residents and farmers, accordingly, faced economic crisis well before the onset of the Great Depression late in 1929. Some 500,000 individuals lost their farms to bankruptcy during the 1920s. In response, farmers made persistent demands for relief from the federal government during the course of the twenties. As rural residents faced growing economic hardships, some responded by attacking what they perceived to be the
Immorality of urban America. Accordingly, rural residents provided strong support for many of the movements that came to characterize American society by the 1920s: Prohibition, Ku Klux Klan, immigration restriction, and religious fundamentalism. At the same time, farmers also organized the Farmer-Labor Party in the Midwest and farm organizations such as the American Farm Bureau to demand that the government address the problems of rural America.
See also Capper-Volstead Act; economy; McNary-Haugen Farm Bill; Non-Partisan League; religion.
Further reading: David B. Danbom, Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995).
—David R. Smith
World History
