Populism
Problems facing Farmers- Prices
Prices for the farmers goods fall, but the cost of
transportation, livestock, machinery and seed continued
to rise – leading to mounting debt for the farmers, many
had to mortgage their farms and become tenant farmers
on land they used to own
Problems Facing Farmers- Big Business
 Monopoly- A business who has little to no competition in their field,
and can therefore set whatever prices for their goods that they
want
 Railroads- as monopolies continued to raise their prices for
transportation, despite falling prices of goods
 Banks- little regulation of the banks led to them setting high interest
rates on loans to farmers
Problems Facing Farmers- Representation
Most of the nations leaders were coming from an
industrial background, and farmers felt
unrepresented in government
Farmers Organize
 The Grange (1867-late 1870s)
 Provided education on new techniques
 Called for regulation of railroad and grain rates
 Farmers’ Alliance
 Formed co-ops to collectively sell crops
 Called on government to provide farmers with low interest loans
 The Colored Farmer’s Alliance
 Will lead to the Populist Party
Populism
 In 1890 the members of the Farmers’ Alliance met in Ocala, FL and
issued the Ocala Demands
 Called for development of the sub treasury plan (government set up
warehouses and low interest loans)
 Free coinage of silver
 End to protective tariffs and national banks
 Tighter regulations of RRs
 Direct election of senators
Populism
Republicans in Congress pushed through the Sherman
Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which allowed the US to
purchase 4.5M ounces of silver/month
They did this to keep people from voting for Populists
The Democrats adopted several pro-Alliance policies,
which they would later decline to follow through with
Populism
Due to the failure of the Democrat-pro-Alliance
measures, many Southern Democrats turned to the
Peoples’ Party
In the 1892 election, the Peoples’ Party nominated James
Weaver who ran on the platform of increasing money
supply and a graduated income tax
While Weaver did well for a small party candidate,
Cleveland still won the election (note: Cleveland was
president 4 years earlier)
Populism
The Panic of 1893 began due to RRs going bankrupt,
bank’s closing and a stock market crash
Cleveland had to summon Congress into a special session to
repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act so the country’s gold
supply would not be depleted
Some Democrats, including Cleveland, felt the economy should
be based on gold (they were called “goldbugs”)
Others believed it should be based on an unlimited quantity of
silver (they were called “silverites”)
Populism
 The election of 1896 was the beginning of the end for the Populist
movement:
 The Populists felt they could get most Democrats votes if they slammed
Cleveland during the campaign
 Their plan failed when the Democrats put up William Jennings Bryan (a strong
supporter of silver, the Populists’ main platform)
 The Populists decided to support Bryan rather than split the silverites
Populism
The Republicans put up William McKinley who launched
the “front porch campaign” where he stayed in Ohio and
met with people while the Republicans did campaigning
elsewhere for him
His slogan was a “full dinner pail” which meant more to urban
workers than the argument over silver or gold
In the end, McKinley won a decisive victory over Bryan
Populism
 After McKinley took office and the Gold Standard Act was passed
which made the US officially adopt a gold-based currency, the
Populist movement lost momentum
 It would take another century for some of their reforms to be
adopted including the graduated income tax and governmental
regulations of the economy