Wheat Price Guarantee Act: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
== Background == |
== Background == |
||
At the start of the first World War, the US government passed the [[Lever Food Act|Lever [Food] Act]]. This was done to conserve the food supply and increase its production in order to aid the efforts in Europe during the war. This alone helped food industries, including wheat, to take off. In July of 1918, the Grain Corporation (a part of the [[U.S. Food Administration|US Food Administration]]) took on contracts with allied governments, promising to provide as much wheat up to 200 million bushels to the Allied powers. Soon after this, the war ended, and the United States had a decision to make if they were going to honor the wheat prices promised before the war ended. |
At the start of the first World War, the US government passed the [[Lever Food Act|Lever [Food] Act]]. This was done to conserve the food supply and increase its production in order to aid the efforts in Europe during the war. This alone helped food industries, including wheat, to take off. In July of 1918, the Grain Corporation (a part of the [[U.S. Food Administration|US Food Administration]]) took on contracts with allied governments, promising to provide as much wheat up to 200 million bushels to the Allied powers. Soon after this, the war ended, and the United States had a decision to make if they were going to honor the wheat prices promised before the war ended. |
||
[[File:"They Are Giving All. Will You Send Them Wheat^ U.S. Food Administration.", ca. 1917 - ca. 1919 - NARA - 512442.jpg|left|thumb|244x244px|The US Food Administration used advertisements like this during World War I to urge people to conserve food in order to have enough for the soldiers. Despite the wheat industry being as mobilized as it was, there was always a constant demand for more to aid the war effort.]] |
|||
During [[World War I]], the wheat industry was mobilized, but |
During [[World War I]], the wheat industry was mobilized, but following the end of it the demand started to decline, which hurt the still-mobilized agricultural industry. This resulted in the drafting of the Wheat Price Guarantee Act. The [[65th United States Congress|65th Congress]] approved this and it was signed into law by [[Woodrow Wilson]]. The bill appropriated $1,000,000,000 in funds to keep wheat prices constant through the 1919-1920 crop year. The passage of this act allowed the US Government, specifically the President, to monitor wheat prices in order to guarantee farmers profits based on what they had formerly expected to be. The minimum price per bushel was set to $2.26, which is known as a guaranteed price scheme. The passage of this was intended to give the agricultural industry time to adjust to the war being over. The Wheat Price Guarantee Act would officially expire on June 1, 1920. After this, most farmers fell into debt and this laid some of the roots that would lead to the Great Depression in the 30's. |
||
=== Gronna Bill === |
=== Gronna Bill === |
Revision as of 02:32, 16 November 2018
Long title | An Act to enable the President to carry out the price guaranties made to producers of wheat of the crops of nineteen hundred and eighteen and nineteen hundred and nineteen and to protect the United States against undue enhancement of its liabilities thereunder. |
---|---|
Nicknames | Wheat Stabilization Act of 1919 |
Enacted by | the 65th United States Congress |
Effective | March 4, 1919 |
Citations | |
Public law | Pub. L. 65–348 |
Statutes at Large | 40 Stat. 1348 |
Legislative history | |
|
The Wheat Price Guarantee Act was a 1919 bill passed by Congress that gave the government the power to regulate the price of wheat.
Background
At the start of the first World War, the US government passed the Lever [Food] Act. This was done to conserve the food supply and increase its production in order to aid the efforts in Europe during the war. This alone helped food industries, including wheat, to take off. In July of 1918, the Grain Corporation (a part of the US Food Administration) took on contracts with allied governments, promising to provide as much wheat up to 200 million bushels to the Allied powers. Soon after this, the war ended, and the United States had a decision to make if they were going to honor the wheat prices promised before the war ended.
During World War I, the wheat industry was mobilized, but following the end of it the demand started to decline, which hurt the still-mobilized agricultural industry. This resulted in the drafting of the Wheat Price Guarantee Act. The 65th Congress approved this and it was signed into law by Woodrow Wilson. The bill appropriated $1,000,000,000 in funds to keep wheat prices constant through the 1919-1920 crop year. The passage of this act allowed the US Government, specifically the President, to monitor wheat prices in order to guarantee farmers profits based on what they had formerly expected to be. The minimum price per bushel was set to $2.26, which is known as a guaranteed price scheme. The passage of this was intended to give the agricultural industry time to adjust to the war being over. The Wheat Price Guarantee Act would officially expire on June 1, 1920. After this, most farmers fell into debt and this laid some of the roots that would lead to the Great Depression in the 30's.
Gronna Bill
Senator Gronna attempted to reverse all guarantees within this act with the Gronna Bill. Many state representatives opposed this, choosing to back the farmers with a 100% guarantee on their profits. The bill did not end up passing in the end.
Wheat Prices
The passage of the bill required the US to buy bushels of wheat for at least $2.26 each. Following the expiration of the bill in 1920, prices plummeted back to their typical range of $0.50-$1.50 per bushel. Having lost most of the business they had because of the war, the wheat industry took a big hit. In 1931 during the Great Depression, it would hit a low of just $0.33 per bushel.
References
- "WHEAT GUARANTEE BILL INTRODUCED; Names Price of $2.26 for Crop of 1919 and Gives President Sweeping Authority". The New York Times. February 9, 1919.
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/1885162?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents
- http://www.thebhc.org/sites/default/files/santos.pdf
- https://books.google.com/books?id=88k7AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA6-PA67&lpg=RA6-PA67&dq=wheat+guarantee+act&source=bl&ots=jdk-iUnJ3d&sig=RUQoHh3qFaflCSNJm-DH8kyJP7I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwicoemBgP3dAhWhmeAKHQoiBRcQ6AEwBnoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=wheat%20guarantee%20act&f=false
- https://books.google.com/books?id=XNs9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=the+gronna+bill&source=bl&ots=R-CVk9h492&sig=86HR2R_PArt8zoIYExfQHxhrYAU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVmoC8hP3dAhUJhuAKHc-mCNIQ6AEwBXoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=gronna%20bill&f=false
- https://www.nytimes.com/1919/02/09/archives/wheat-guarantee-bill-introduced-names-price-of-226-for-crop-of-1919.html https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/lever-act/
- https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/02/09/97070972.pdf
- https://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2016/05/150-years-of-us-wheat-prices.html#.W8O2pmhKjIU