The Agricultural Adjustment Act :: essays research papers

The Agricultural Adjustment ActDuring World War I, Englands agricultural economy was badly damaged. This inconvenience for the English was a kindness to American husbandmans. Since the invention of the combine, and various other mechanical harvesting machines, American farmers could extend their crop yield. In turn they could export the extra crops to England for more money. erst England got back on its feet, American farmers could not find any exports for their crops. As they continued to produce more than the American people could consume, the prices of agricultural goods dramatically dropped. By the 1930s many farmers were in serious need of help, with heavy farm loans and mortgages hanging over their heads. Nothing had been done to help the farmers during The Hoover Administration. So in 1933 as part of Roosevelts New quid, the Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Wallace devised a plan to limit employment and increase prices. Which came to be known as the Agricultural Adjustme nt Act of 1933, also known as the AAA. The AAA was established on May 12, 1933 it was the New Deal creative thinker to assist farmers during the Great Depression. It was the first widespread effort to raise and stabilize farm prices and income. The law created and authorized the Agricultural Adjustment Administration to project into voluntary agreements to pay farmers to reduce production of basic commodities ( cotton, wheat, corn, rice, tobacco, hogs, milk, etc..), to make advanced payments to farmers who stored crops on the farm, create marketing agreements between farmers and middlemen, and to levy processing taxes to pay for production adjustments and market development. Basically the AAA paid farmers to destroy their crops and livestock in return for cash. In 1933 alone cotton farmers were paid $100 million to cope over their cotton crop. Six million piglets were slaughtered by the government after they bought them from farmers. The meat was canned and given to people withou t jobs. In order for this new street arab to work there needed to be money to pay the farmers, this money came from the companies that bought farm products in the form of taxes. While it seemed like a good idea to pay farmers to cut back on crops to lowering the surplus and boost the economy, The Supreme Court found the Act unconstitutional in 1936.