Agricultural Policy In The 1800s

Agricultural policy serves to protect the consumer, the environment and the economy. There have been many revisions, additions and changes made over the decades to agricultural policies. There were nearly 5,308,483 people in the world according to the US census in 1800s when these policies were initially written. Policies were created that were relevant to the time. Then, people of the time relied on local family farms and individualized stores for much of their food. Over the years, farms were commercialized and store became on stops hops. The federal government oversees the maintaining agricultural policies and adapts them when deemed necessary. “Not until the 1920s did [government] formulate policies to specifically regulate fundamental market forces in the agricultural sector” (Miller, 2011). The 1800s saw many provisions, but the twenties were the beginning of massive changes to agricultural policies that paved the way for current policies today.
In 1862, there were around 32,443,321 people in the United States.
The first major stride towards government intervention related to agricultural policy was the Homestead Act of 1862. The act was comprised of multiple federal laws that offered ownership of land to applicants which began the normalization of individual farms. People could now own their own farm, as opposed to one person owning large amounts of land to farm on. Any adult that had not ever “taken arms against the U.S government” was eligible. This was crucial because immigrants, farmers that had no land of their own, single women and former slaves could apply. It was a was revolutionary idea; people could own their own land to increase agricultural production. The Homestead Act was put to an end with the enactment of the Federal Land policy and Management Act of 1976 due to chronic abuses of the
system.
Strengthening in urbanization during the turn of the twentieth century amplified the need for farms and for advances in the standard of living for American farmers. World War 1 pushed the United States government into a frenzy with high demands with low commodity costs. Bankruptcies shut down business pushing the government to intervene. In 1924, congress pushed for a “price support system in an effort to restore to farmers the purchasing power” (Miller,2011). The farm crisis continued after World War1 into the period of the Great Depression. Many of the provisions seen in agricultural policy today stem from policies made during the New Deal during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. One major policy was passed in the 1930s attempting to get the United States out of the Great Depression, which had a serious effect on many farmers. The great depression had affected many farmers. “Prices for their goods had been falling since 1919, and many farmers faced the loss of their farms and homes” (Screenivasan, 2009). The Agricultural Adjustment Act intended to help farmers by lowering production, and the destruction of foods. Farmers were given subsidies from the government to lower their production of seven basic commodities; wheat, cotton, corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, and milk. In spite of the crops already being planted farmers destroyed “10 million acres of cotton were plowed under, and 6 million piglets were slaughtered” (Screenivasan, 2009) in an effort to immediately reduce production.
Lawsuits were filed against the Agricultural Adjustment act stating it was unconstitutional, and the government was coercing farmers with taxes and subsidies into federal regulation. In reaction to the ruling, Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. This act was one of many policies that was geared towards protecting the environment along with trying to assist the farmers. “The purpose of this act was to evade the dual threats of soil erosion and agricultural overproduction” (US Legal, 2016). Additionally, the act also aimed to support farm income by making soil-conservation payments to farmers. The government was supplement the farmers income so they could decrease production, sustain the soil, and prevent erosion. “The wastage of soil and moisture resources on farm, grazing and forest lands of the nation resulting from soil erosion is a menace to national welfare” (US Legal, 2016). The act put the Secretary of Agriculture in the role of regulating, and coordinating all things related to soil erosion. It was necessary to turn focus to the soil because without healthy soil, healthy crops could not be sustained.
The creation of agricultural policies established during World War 1 withheld through World War 2. During times of war agricultural production increases. To address the rising need for food, the government allowed farmers to utilize more land to grow crops. Postwar, the United States was making huge improvements in farm technology which made it difficult to prevent crop overproduction caused by wartime needs. Allowances were made to give farmers the ability to export surpluses to developing countries so we could help lessen food scarcities. This act was called the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. After World War 2 however, this remained as a continuing trend and it is that is still occuring today. As the years went by, the number of farmers started decreasing excessively. In the mid 1800s, farmers accounted for 69 percent of the labor force, but by the 1940s farmers were only 18 percent of the labor force (Growing a Nation, 2014). Farms continued to decrease as people sought to find the lowest price for food.