THE RISING SPIRIT OF UNREST 19 



some States there was a fusion of party organiza- 

 tions ; but men like Schurz and Trumbull held aloof 

 from these radical movements, while Easterners 

 like Godkin of the Nation met them with ridicule 

 and invective. 



The period from 1870 to 1873 has been character- 

 ized as one of rampant prosperity, and such it was 

 for the commercial, the manufacturing, and especi- 

 ally the speculative interests of the country. For 

 the farmers, however, it was a period of bitter de- 

 pression. The years immediately following the 

 close of the Civil War had seen a tremendous ex- 

 pansion of production, particularly of the staple 

 crops. The demobilization of the armies, the clos- 

 ing of war industries, increased immigration, the 

 homestead law, the introduction of improved 

 machinery, and the rapid advance of the railroads 

 had all combined to drive the agricultural frontier 

 westward by leaps and bounds until it had almost 

 reached the limit of successful cultivation under 

 conditions which then prevailed. As crop acreage 

 and production increased, prices went down in ac- 

 cordance with the law of supply and demand, and 

 farmers all over the country found it difficult to 

 make a living. 



In the West and South the great agricultural 



