As the United States evolved into an industrial powerhouse in the decades following the Civil War, the growing strength of the railroads and the banks particularly, coupled with the impact of mechanization on agricultural practices, challenged the financial stability of American farmers in ways never before experienced. The late 1860s saw the birth of the Grange (a.k.a. the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry), an organization dedicated to the social and political uplift of farmers. Throughout the...