CHAPTER VI 



THE GREENBACK INTERLUDE 



WHATEVER may have been the causes of the col- 

 lapse of the Granger movement in 1875 and 1876, 

 returning prosperity for the Western farmer was 

 certainly not one of them, for the general agricul- 

 tural depression showed no signs of lifting until 

 nearly the end of the decade. During the Granger 

 period the farmer attempted to increase his narrow 

 margin of profit or to turn a deficit into a profit by 

 decreasing the cost of transportation and eliminat- 

 ing the middleman. Failing in this attempt, he 

 decided that the remedy for the situation was to be 

 found in increasing the prices for his products and 

 checking the appreciation of his debts by increas- 

 ing the amount of money in circulation. 



This demand for currency inflation was by no 

 means new when it was taken up by the West- 

 ern farmers. It had played a prominent part in 

 American history from colonial days, especially ir? 



77 



