These are a string of laws that were passed by numerous Midwestern
states such as Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois during
the late 1860s to the early 1870s. This
was endorsed by a group of farmers known as the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry whose objective was the regulation of the increasing
prices of railroad and grain elevator companies in the aftermath of the Civil
War. The outcome of the Granger Laws was different from state to state but had
the same goal of making the price of railroad rates to favor small country
farmers.
