RAPID growth accompanied by a somewhat painful
readjustment has been one of the leading charac-
teristics of the history of the United States during
the last half century. In the West the change has
been so swift and spectacular as to approach a com-
plete metamorphosis. With the passing of the
frontier has gone something of the old freedom and
the old opportunity; and the inevitable change has
brought forth inevitable protest, particularly from
the agricultural class. Simple farming communi-
ties have wakened to find themselves complex in-
dustrial regions in which the farmers have fre-
quently lost their former preferred position. The
result has been a series of radical agitations on
the part of farmers determined to better their lot.
These movements have manifested different de-
grees of coherence and intelligence, but all have had
something of the same purpose and spirit, and all
may justly be considered as stages of the still

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