Farmers throughout western Kentucky and northern Tennessee gathered in Guthrie on Sept. 24, 1904, in response to the economic hardship facing tobacco growers. Five thousand farmers took part in forming a cooperative to pool their crops in opposition to price-fixing by James Duke and the American Tobacco Co. Two more Guthrie rallies followed in 1905-06. The Planters Protective Association advocated state and federal policies more responsive to farmers' needs. On May 29, 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the American Tobacco Co. had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and directed James Duke to break up his operation. Tobacco prices then began to climb, and the association was disbanded in 1914.