Farmers boosted production in the hopes of
further. Between 1919 and 1921 annual farm
just over $4 billion. Farmers who had gone into debt had difficulty in paying off their
lost their farms when banks
more crops, but this only depressed
declined from $10 billion to
Many
and seized the property as payment for the debt. As
banks began to fail. Auctions were held to
farmers began to default on their loans, many. -
recoup some of the banks' losses.
called the McNary-
Haugen bill. This called for federal price-
for key products such as wheat, corn, cotton,
crops at guaranteed prices and sell them on the
and tobacco. The government would buy
world market. President Coolidge vetoed the bill twice. He commented, "Farmers have never made
I don't believe we can do much about it."
Congress tried to help out farmers with a piece of