Question

Describe how Texan members of the Grange fought for and won regulation of big railroad corporations. (Site 1)

Answer 1

Answer: Grangers fought and pressed for laws to protect their interests

Explanation: The Granger Movement was begun in the late 1860s by farmers who called for government regulation of railroads and other industries whose prices and practices, they claimed, were monopolistic and unfair.

The main problems confronting the Granger Movement concerned corporate ownership of grain elevators (used for the storage of crops) and railroads. These corporations charged high prices for the distribution and marketing of agricultural goods, and the farmer had no choice but to pay.

The Grangers pressed for laws to protect their interests hoping to establish maximum freight and passenger rates as well as prohibit discrimination. In 1877, the Supreme Court upheld the Granger laws and states won the right to regulate the railroads for the benefit of farmers and consumers. The grangers thereby also helped establish an important principle of the federal government's right to regulate private industry to serve the public interest.