During World War I, U.S. farmers experienced increased prices for commodities as Europe's farms were devastated and the U.S. increased food production. However, after the war ended in 1919, prices started declining as European agriculture recovered and reduced demand. Throughout the 1920s, farmers struggled with low prices as consumers ate less cereals and grains and new synthetic products narrowed markets. Attempts to raise prices by taking land out of production failed because productivity increased through innovations, keeping supply high despite reduced acreage. The 1920s were a difficult time for many American farmers due to these economic forces beyond their control.

1. The Dark Side of the 1920s:
The Plight of the Farmer
Sharon Rounds
McElroy Project
through
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum

2. World War I
• Europe’s farms
devastated
• U.S. farmers
experience increase
in price they are paid
for commodities
• U.S. farmers increase
amount of land in
production
Audio-Visual Collection, 1919 – 48A, Herbert
Hoover Presidential Library & Museum collection

3. All People are Encouraged to
Save Food for Troops
Instituted a schedule of “-less”
days:
•Sunday: One meal wheatless;
one meal meatless
•Monday: All meals meatless; one
meal wheatless
•Tuesday: All meals wheatless;
one meal meatless
http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/hoover_bio/archive/food/wheat.htmhttp://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/hoover_bio/archive/food/wheat.htm

4. • Wednesday: All meals
wheatless; one meal meatless
• Thursday: One meal wheatless;
one meal meatless
• Friday: One meal wheatless;
one meal meatless
• Saturday: All meals porkless;
one meal wheatless; one meal
meatless
http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/hoover_bio/archive/food/wheat.htm
All People are Encouraged to
Save Food for Troops

5. Other Propaganda for
Conserving Food
http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/ho
over_bio/food.htm#p1
Audio-Visual Collection, A1.61-25, USFA Sign in
San Diego, CA., Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
& Museum collection

6. http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/
hoover_and_belgian_relief/PROJECTS/G/J19.htm
l
“To cooperate with him
(Hoover), to guard against
all waste, to use time and
strength in purchasing and
preparing the food for our
households is pleasing to
the Master who bade his
disciples gather up the
baskets and fragments
after feeding the Five
Thousand.”
A Plea to “Feed the World”

7. July 1918
• President Wilson vetoed a Congressional
attempt to raise the guaranteed price of wheat
• It was decided that the government price for
wheat would remain unchanged, while prices of
most other commodities were soaring
• Cotton remained exempt from mandatory price
restraints

8. Hoover Defends Price Controls
• Says without government price controls, the
price of wheat would be less than $1 a bushel
• Provided President Wilson ammo against public
criticisms of Senator Weeks

9. After the War
• Late in 1919, commodity prices started going
down
• Prices never recovered until after World War II
• Recovery of European agriculture after 1922
reduced demand and prices even further

10. What Did the U.S. Consumer do
after the War?
• Ate more fruits, vegetables, and meats after the
war, but less cereals
• Pushed through Prohibition, which further
lowered the demand for cereals and hops
• Bought synthetic products, which narrowed the
market for natural fibers like cotton
Parrish, Michael E. (1994). Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920–1941.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Copy available at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
& Museum, West Branch, IA.

11. So…Why Not Take Land Out of
Production to Raise Prices?
• Farmers took 13 million
acres out of production
in the 1920s
• But – farm output
actually grew by 9
percent as productivity
of agricultural workers
rose 15% due to
technical and scientific
innovations
Parrish, Michael E. (1992). Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920–1941. New
York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Copy available at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library &
Museum, West Branch, IA.