How did American farmers respond to the economic challenges they faced during the second industrial revolution?

Sharecroppers were unable to pay off debts and fell deeper into debt. The weight of the debt

bound the sharecropper to the landowner as completely as they had been bound by slavery.

Farmers in the Midwest formed granges and those in the West and South established Farmers'

Alliances. These groups bargained for farmers as labor unions bargained for workers. The Alliances

soon evolved into the Populist Party. Highlights of the party platform include government

regulation and ownership of railroads, coinage of silver to produce inflation, and loans to farmers.