The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, also simply styled
the Grange, is a fraternal organization for American farmers that encourages farm families to band together for their common economic and political well-being. Founded in 1867 after the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, it is the oldest surviving agricultural organization in America, though now much diminished from the over one million members it had in its peak in the 1890s through the 1950s. In addition to serving as a center for many farming communities, the Grange was an effective
special interest groupIn technical fields, a Special Interest Group is a community with a particular interest in a specific technical area. Members of a SIG cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and often meet regularly, particularly at conferences.-Computing SIGs:SIGs exist for...
for farmers and their agendas, including fighting railroad monopolies and advocating rural mail deliveries. Indeed, the word "grange" itself comes from a Latin word for grain, and is related to a "granary" or generically, a farm.
In 2005, the Grange had a membership of 300,000, with organizations in 3,600 communities in 37 states. Its headquarters are in a building in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
, built by the organization in 1960. Many rural communities in the US still have a "Grange Hall".
History
There were seven co-founders of the Grange:
Oliver Hudson KelleyOliver Hudson Kelley is considered the "Father" of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry .Born in Boston, he moved to the Minnesota frontier in 1849, where he became a farmer...
, William Saunders, Francis M. McDowell,
John TrimbleJohn Trimble was one of the seven founders of the Grange.Born in New Jersey, he was a student of the Protestant Episcopal Church, receiving his Doctor of Divinity. Following the American Civil War, he served in the Treasurer Department as agent for the collection of war claims for several of the...
,
Aaron B. GroshReverend Aaron Burt Grosh , a Universalist minister, was one of the seven founders of the Grange. He had a major part in the design of the Grange ritual and was also responsible for the various songs used during various celebrations of the Grange...
,
John R. ThompsonJohn Richardson Thompson was one of the seven founders of the Grange.Thompson was born on a farm in New Hampshire. He became a member of the Treasury Department after his service in the American Civil War. He is believed to be the first to whom Oliver Hudson Kelley talked about his dream of...
, and
William M. IrelandWilliam M. Ireland was one of the seven founders of the Grange. He served much of his life as chief clerk in the offices of the U.S. Post Office Department. Also an avid Mason, Ireland added valuable knowledge to organizational systems and methods in the formative period of the Grange movement...
.
President
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
sent Oliver Hudson Kelley to the South to collect agricultural data. As a Northerner, Kelley was greeted with suspicion. However, he was a Freemason, an affiliation that overcame sectional differences. Kelley saw the need for an organization that would bring farmers together and advance their interests. After consultations with the other Founders, the Grange was born in 1867. The first Grange was Potomac Grange #1 in Washington, D.C., extant today.
Membership in the Grange increased dramatically from 1873 (200,000) to 1875 (858,050) as many of the state and local granges adopted non-partisan political resolutions, especially regarding the regulation of railroad transportation costs. The organization was unusual in that it allowed women and teens as equal members. In fact, four of the sixteen elected positions can only be held by women.
Rapid growth infused the national organization with money from dues, and many local granges established consumer cooperatives, initially supplied by the wholesaler
Aaron Montgomery WardAaron Montgomery Ward was an American businessman notable for the invention of mail order.The mail-order industry was started by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 in Chicago...
. Poor fiscal management, combined with organizational difficulties resulting from rapid growth, led to a massive decline in membership. By the turn of the century, the Grange rebounded and membership stabilized.
In the middle of the 1870s, the Granger movement was successful in
regulatingRegulation is "controlling human or societal behaviour by rules or restrictions." Regulation can take many forms: legal restrictions promulgated by a government authority, self-regulation, social regulation , co-regulation and market regulation. One can consider regulation as actions of conduct...
the railroads and grain warehouses. The birth of the
Cooperative Extension ServiceThe Cooperative Extension Service, also known as the Extension Service of the USDA, is a non-formal educational program implemented in the United States designed to help people use research-based knowledge to improve their lives. The service is provided by the state's designated land-grant...
, Rural Free Delivery, and the
Farm Credit SystemThe Farm Credit System is a federally chartered network of cooperatives and related service organizations that lends to agricultural producers, rural homeowners, farm-related businesses, and agricultural, aquatic, and public utility cooperatives....
were largely due to Grange lobbying. The peak of their political power was marked by their success in
Munn v. IllinoisMunn v. Illinois, 94 U.S. 113 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with corporate rates and agriculture. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government...
, which held that the grain warehouses were a "private utility in the
public interestThe public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...
," and therefore could be regulated by public law (see references below, "The Granger Movement"). Other significant Grange causes included
temperanceA temperance movement is a social movement against the use of Alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence, or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation....
, the
direct election of SenatorsThe Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by the Senate on June 12, 1911, the House of Representatives on May 13, 1912, and ratified by the states on April 8, 1913...
and
women's suffrageWomen's suffrage is the right of women to vote, and historically includes the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage to women. The movement's modern origins lie in France in the 18th century. Of currently existing independent countries, New Zealand was the first to give...
(
Susan B. AnthonySusan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She traveled the United States and Europe, and gave 75 to 100 speeches every year on women's rights for 45...
's last public appearance was at the National Grange Convention in 1903 ). During the
Progressive EraThe Progressive Era in the United States was a period of reform which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s.Responding to the changes brought about by industrialization,the Progressives advocated a wide range of economic, political, social, and moral reforms....
, political parties took up Grange causes. Consequently, local Granges focused more on community service, although the State and National Granges remain a political force.
By the 1890s, Grangers had lost the vast majority of their membership to the Farmers' Alliances, which supported the
People's PartyThe People's Party, later erroneously also known as the Populist Party was a short-lived political party in the United States in the late 19th century. It flourished particularly among western farmers, based largely on its opposition to the gold standard...
in the
1892 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 1892 was held on November 8, 1892. Former President Grover Cleveland returned to defeat incumbent President Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only person to be elected to non-consecutive presidential terms...
. In 1896, they merged with the Democratic Party and lost to
William McKinleyWilliam McKinley Jr. was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to the office....
in the
1896 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by historians to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history. In political science the 1896 campaign is often considered to be...
, that time with
William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan was the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States in 1896, 1900 and 1908, a lawyer, and the 41st United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson. One of the most popular speakers in American history, he was noted for a deep, commanding voice...
as its nominee.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the position of the Grange as a respected organization in the United States was indicated by a membership that included Presidents
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, as well as artist
Norman RockwellNorman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over more than four...
and
NirvanaNirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
bassist
Krist NovoselicKrist Anthony Novoselic II is a Croatian American rock musician , best known for being the bassist and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana. In addition to Nirvana, Novoselic has played for Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift, and most recently in Flipper...
. The monument to the founding of the Grange is the only private monument on the
National MallThe National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service, and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington, D.C.
The Grange today
Grange membership has declined considerably as the percentage of American farmers has fallen from a third of the population in the early 20th century to less than two percent today. In the last 15 years, the number of Grange members has dropped by 40%.
WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
has the largest membership of any state, at approximately 40,000.
Despite this drop in membership and national awareness, the Grange continues to press for the causes of farmers, including issues of free trade and farm policy. In its 2006 Journal of Proceedings, the organization's report of its annual convention, the organization lays out its mission and how it works towards achieving it through fellowship, service, and legislation:
"The Grange provides opportunities for individuals and families to develop to their highest potential in order to build stronger communities and states, as well as a stronger nation."
The Grange is nonpartisan, and only supports policies, never political parties or candidates. Although the Grange was originally founded to serve the interests of farmers, because of the shrinking farm population the Grange has begun to broaden its range to include a wide variety of issues, and anyone is welcome to join the Grange.
The Junior grange is open to children 5-14. Regular Grange membership is open to anyone age 14 or older. The Grange Youth is a group created within the Grange and consists of members 14-25.
Rituals and ceremonies
When the Grange first began in 1867, it borrowed some of its rituals and symbols from Freemasonry, including secret meetings, oaths and special passwords. Small, ceremonial farm tools are often displayed at Grange meetings. Elected officers are in charge of opening and closing each meeting. There are seven degrees of Grange membership; the ceremony of each degree relates to various symbols and principles.
During the last few decades, the Grange has moved towards public meetings and no longer meets in secret. Though the secret meetings do not occur, the Grange still acknowledges its rich history and practices some traditions.
Organization
The Grange is a hierarchical organization ranging from local communities to the National Grange organization. At the local level are community Granges, otherwise known as "subordinate Granges". All members are affiliated with at least one subordinate. In most states, multiple subordinate Granges are grouped together to form "Pomona Granges". Typically, Pomonas are made up of all the subordinates in a county. Next in the order come State Granges, which is where the Grange begins to be especially active in the political process. State Masters (Presidents) are responsible for supervising the administration of Subordinate and Pomona Granges. Together, thirty-six State Granges, as well as Potomac Grange #1 in Washington, D.C., form the National Grange. The National Grange represents the interests of all Grangers in lobbying activities are similar to the state, but on a much larger scale. In addition, the National Grange oversees the Grange ritual. The Grange is a grassroots organization; virtually all policy originates at the subordinate level.
External links