Alva Review-Courier -

The late 19th century was a time of great growth and expansion in the United States. Our population more than doubled, additional states came into the Union, and new businesses and industries led to the U.S. having a major impact on the world’s economy.

People living on the Great Plains produced the wheat, corn, cattle and other agricultural commodities that fed much of the rest of the country.

But by the 1890s many of these people were unhappy with the country’s governmental leaders. They joined agricultural organizations (often called “alliances”) and began trying to elect officials who unde...