Populism
Americans Seek Prosperity and
Opportunity
Economic Factors Hurt Farmers
New Technology
Overproduction
High Tariffs
Large Distant Forces Added To Farmers Woes
Banks
Railroads
The Money Supply
Greenbacks To Finance War
Non-exchangeable for gold or silver
Caused inflation and the rise of prices
After War Government Tried To Control Inflation
Paid off bonds
Stopped printing greenbacks
Result: Deflation
Deflation
Interest Rates Rose
Prices Fell
Farmers Struggled To Make Ends Meet
They Blamed Their Struggles On Eastern Bankers
And Railroads
They Wanted The Government To Print More
Money Particularly Silver Coins
The Grange
Formed in 1866 By Oliver H. Kelly
Designed As Educational And Social Organization
With The Recession Of 1873 More Farmers
Joined
By 1874 The Grange Had Over 800,000 members
The Grange Became More Of A Political
Movement With Three Basic Goals
Three Responses of The Grange
Some Tried To Pressure Congress To Regulate
Railroad And Warehouse Rates
Others Joined The Independent National Party
Grangers Also Formed Co-ops
All Of These Failed
The Farmers Alliance
Began in Lampasas County Tx in 1877
By 1885 It Had Developed A Large Following In
Texas
1886 New Leader Charles W. Macune Urged the
Organization To Go National
By 1890 It Had Between 1.3 And 1.5 Million
Members
Gained Great Strength In The South And On The
Great Plains
Success And Failure
The Farmers Alliance Set Up Large Co-op
Designed To Raise Prices And Provide Loans
Their Members
These Co-ops Failed Because They Over Spent,
Were Discriminated Against By Large Banks
And Warehouses, And Were Too Small To
Affect World Wide Prices
The People’s Party
Some Western Members Of The Farmers Alliance
Wanted To Form A New Party
Some Kansas Members Formed The Peoples Party
In 1890
They Nominated Candidates To Run For Congress
And State Legislatures
Opposition To The Populists
Southern Members Of The Farmers Alliance Did
Not Want To Challenge The Democrats’
Control Of The South
They Hoped To Get Democratic Candidates To
Meet Their Wants
Charles Macune suggested the Subtreasury Plan
The Subtreasury Plan
Government Would Set Up Warehouses Where
Farmers Could Store Their Crops And Raise
Prices.
Macune Hoped Democrats Would Adopt This
Plan
The Rise Of Populism
1890 Populists Met In Ocala Florida
Produced The Ocala Demands
Adopt The Subtreasury System
Free Coinage Of Silver
End Protective Tariffs
Tighter Regulations On Railroads
Direct Election Of Senators
Republicans Countered With The Sherman Silver
Purchase Act Of 1890
Populist For President
July 1892 Populists Hold First National
Convention In Omaha Nebraska
Nominated James B. Weaver
Developed A Platform
Called For A Return To Coining Silver
Federalization Of The Railroad
Graduated Income Tax
Election 1892
Won By Grover Cleveland 277-145-22
James Weaver Won 22 Electoral Votes and Four
States
Panic of 1893
Worst Economic Crisis In Nation’s History To
That Time
Several Railroads Went Bankrupt And Took Some
Banks With Them
690,000 Workers Went On Strike
4.6 Million Workers Unemployed 18% Of The
Population
Reaction To The Panic
President Cleveland Pushed Congress To Repeal
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
This Act Divided The Democratic Party Into
Goldbugs And Silverites
Election Of 1896
Republicans Nominate William McKinley
Democrats Nominate William Jennings Bryan
Populists Forced To Endorse Bryan
Bryan Ran Very Energetic Campaign
McKinley Used A “Front Porch Campaign”
Decline Of Populism
The Depression Ended
More gold Found In Canada And Alaska
Credit Became Easier To Obtain
1900 U.S. Officially Adopts Gold Standard
End of Section 2