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Title: The Agrarian Crusade
A Chronicle of the Farmer in Politics

Author: Solon J. Buck

Posting Date: December 6, 2008 [EBook #2899]
Release Date: November, 2001

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE ***

Produced by James J. Kelly of the Library Of St. Gregory's
University, Alev Akman, and Dianne Bean

THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE

A CHRONICLE OF THE FARMER IN POLITICS

By Solon J. Buck

Volume 45, The Chronicles Of America Series

Allen Johnson, Editor

PREFACE

Rapid growth accompanied by a somewhat painful readjustment has been
one of the leading characteristics of the history of the United States
during the last half century. In the West the change has been so swift
and spectacular as to approach a complete metamorphosis. With the
passing of the frontier has gone something of the old freedom and the
old opportunity; and the inevitable change has brought forth inevitable
protest, particularly from the agricultural class. Simple farming
communities have wakened to find themselves complex industrial regions
in which the farmers have frequently lost their former preferred
position. The result has been a series of radical agitations on the
part of farmers determined to better their lot. These movements have
manifested different degrees of coherence and intelligence, but all
have had something of the same purpose and spirit, and all may justly be
considered as stages of the still unfinished agrarian crusade. This book
is an attempt to sketch the course and to reproduce the spirit of
that crusade from its inception with the Granger movement, through
the Greenback and populist phases, to a climax in the battle for free
silver.

In the preparation of the chapters dealing with Populism I received
invaluable assistance from my colleague, Professor Lester B. Shippee
of the University of Minnesota; and I am indebted to my wife for aid at
every stage of the work, especially in the revision of the manuscript.

Solon J. Buck.

Minnesota Historical Society. St. Paul.

CONTENTS