The Granger movement began with a single individual: Oliver Hudson Kelley.
Kelley was an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1866 when he made a tour of the Southern states. He was shocked by the poverty and lack of sound agricultural practices. This prompted him to begin an organization—the Patrons of Husbandry—hoping to bring farmers together for educational discussions and social purposes.
At first only Kelley’s home state of Minnesota seemed responsive to the Granger movement. But by 1870, nine states had Granges. By the mid-1870s, nearly every state had at least one Grange, and national membership reached 800,000.
At their Grange meetings, farmers were urged to vote for political candidates who would promote their interests. If the two major parties would not check the monopolistic practices of railroads and grain elevators, the Grangers would turn to other parties (the Greenback Party, the Populist Party, and, eventually, the Progressives) for a sympathetic candidate.
With the rise of various fragmented organizations for the expression of agricultural protest, the Granger movement began to subside late in the 1870s. Ill-advised farmer-owned cooperatives for the manufacture of agricultural equipment sapped much of the group’s strength and financial resources. By 1880 membership had dropped to 100,000.
But the Granger movement rebounded in the 20th century, especially in the eastern part of the country, due to increasing dissatisfaction with the two major parties.
Today's Grange, continues to lobby for the rights of small farmers, but also is a social organization that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of their own communities.
Local grange halls serve to create a non-partisan environment where people feel free and safe enough to interact with others in meaningful ways - a place where they can build connections and feel like part of something greater than themselves.
We thinks it's time to renew our Grange!
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