Tractors on the Mall: Unraveling the New Deal, Political Shifts, and the 1980s Farm Crisis

In the 1980s, Midwestern farmers faced an economic crisis that rivaled the Great Depression. Agricultural policy in the 1970s and 1980s led to a boom and bust for many of the nation’s farmers, causing the decline in rural communities in the middle of the country. During this period, more efficient agricultural production, shifting federal policy, high inflation, and devalued farmland led farmers in the Midwest to face incredible economic hardships, loss of land, changes in their communities, and challenges to their sense of purpose and identity. The Farm Crisis of the 1980s furnishes an extraordinary opportunity to investigate a confluence of forces, economic, political, social, cultural, and global, that can disrupt traditional narratives about farming communities while simultaneously extolling the long-touted virtues of American farmers. The United States began as a nation of farmers, and farming still carries cultural power as an occupation that encapsulates national values like self-sufficiency and a strong work ethic. The transition from family farms to agribusiness has shaken every aspect of the nation’s agrarian origins, real or imagined. This research seeks to address four key questions. First, how did the social and economic landscape shape a shift to conservatism in the United States. Second, what role did deregulatory and agricultural policies play in causing the Farm Crisis? Third, how did changes in farming practices also alter labor practices, social structures, and power dynamics in rural communities? Fourth, what effect did the changes in farming have on local ecologies and water resources in the region? It is important to note that American agricultural history makes sense only in context with broader economic and political trends.