The county's agricultural economy began to suffer in the 1880s. The combination of a dramatic increase in the production of cotton, the continued depletion of the rich soils of the piedmont regions of the county, and other general economic ills which were also affecting farmers throughout the nation, made farming increasingly difficult. One Edgefield farmer decided to do something about these problems. Benjamin Ryan Tillman, believing that the state's political leaders were not doing enough to help the farmers, instigated the farmers’ revolt, got himself elected Governor in 1890, and turned out of office the old guard of the state, including the principal leaders of the 1876 Red Shirt Campaign.