As farmers struggled during the Gilded Age, they tried to take a cue from industrial workers and organize. What came out of this was the Grange movement. The Grange quickly grew to about 1.25 million members as farmers were trying to help farmers. What makes the Grange and later the Populists Party so important in American history is that they were first to start calling for government help. One of the first Granger laws passed and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1876 said that states could regulating the rates warehouses charge farmers waiting for shipment. The Court said because the warehouses were required for all farmers, they were essentially public property and could be regulated.
Historically Speaking 