The People’s Party
The Grange Movement
An early farm organization
 First organized in the 1870s in the
Midwest, the south, and Texas.
 Set up cooperative associations.
 Social and economic needs.
 Succeeded in lobbying for “Granger
Laws.”
 Rapidly declined by the late 1870s.
WHAT it did for Farmers?
 1. Cooperative Movement- provided farmers
a social network pooled their money to make
shared purchases of machinery, supplies,
insurance, etc.
HOW?
 2.Worked for pro-farmer laws- an early
national farm organization, worked for
mutual welfare of farmers.
Examples: Interstate Commerce Act-regulate
railroad rates and railroads.
PROBLEMS
OF
FARMERS
Specialization of crops-Farmers only raise one
crop(leads to trouble if that crop has problems)
 Disasters
Floods,
boll-weevil,
& grasshoppers
 Political
movement that tried to help out the
nation’s struggling farmers
 1.
Mechanization - More machines = more
debt
 2.
New Farm Land More land (on credit) =
more debt
GOLDGOLD
BUGSBUGS
SILVERITESSILVERITES
WHO THEY
WERE
BANKERS AND
BUSINESS MEN
FARMERS AND LABORERS
WHAT THEY
WANTED
GOLD STANDARD
~ less in circulation,
increase the value
~currency backed by
Gold is more stable.
BIMETALISM
~more money in circulation
~currency backed by Gold &
Silver, cheap money.
LOANS would be
repaid in stable
money.
PRODUCTS would be sold at
higher prices.
DEFLATION
~prices fall
~value of money
increases
~fewer people have
money
INFLATION
~prices rise
~value of money decreases
~more money in circulation
WHY
EFFECTS
1.
System of “sub-treasuries.”
2.
Abolition of the National Bank.
3.
Direct election of Senators.
4.
Govt. ownership of RRs, telephone & telegraph
companies.
5.
Government-operated postal savings banks.
6.
Restriction of undesirable immigration.
7.
8-hour work day for government employees.
8.
Abolition of the Pinkerton detective agency.
9.
Australian secret ballot.
10. Re-monetization of silver.
11. A single term for President & Vice President.
PRESIDENCY:
 Wanted
a single term for President and Vice
President
 Backed
candidate William Jennings Bryan
MONEY:
 Wanted
to inflate the currency by either
printing paper money or coining
silver(BIMETALISM…KNOW THIS WORD!)
TAX:
 Wanted
a GRADUATED FEDERAL INCOME TAX(we have this today…Amendment #16)
 It would take a higher proportion of large
incomes than of small incomes.
 The more you make the more the
government takes.
IMMIGRATION:
 Wanted
to restrict immigration
 Too much over production and under
consumption
VOTING:
 A Secret ballot to end voter fraud.
 Wanted to institute:
1. Initiative- a law comes from the people
and is introduced into government
2. Recall-the people can petition to take a
politician out of office before his term is
up
3. Referendum-law makes it pass legislation
and take it to the people to get their
opinion.
SENATORS:
 Wanted
direct election of senators instead
of by state legislation(Amendment #17)
 Increased
people’s ability to participate in
the government.
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF:
 Called
for government ownership &
operation of the railroads, telegraph and
telephone system.
 Munn
Vs. Illinois- case that stated the state
has the right to regulate a private business
if it is for the public good.
WORKDAY:
 Wanted
an 8 hour work day
 Bread and Butter Goals used to attract
more than just farmers if they wanted to
be successful.
WHY?
Populist believed that this would solve nearly
all of the farmer’s problems.
WHAT?
They wanted to use both silver and gold coins,
thus increasing the amount of money in the
country.
All money would be worth less, a situation that
was bad for creditors (big banks) and good
for debtors(farmers).
William Jennings Bryan
Ran as a Populist President in 1896 on platform
of Free Silver
Big business opposes his run, Republicans win
the White House & Populist fade away.
You come to us and tell us that the great
cities are in favor of the gold standard.
I tell you that the great cities rest upon
these broad and fertile prairies.
Burn down your cities and leave our farms,
and your cities will spring up again as if by
magic. But destroy our farms and the
grass will grow in the streets of every city in
the country.
…we shall answer their demands for
a gold standard by saying to them,
you shall not press down upon the
brow of labor this crown of thorns.
You shall not crucify mankind upon
a cross of gold.
Congressman from Nebraska, three-time presidential
candidate (1896, 1900, and 1908), and later Secretary
of State under President Woodrow Wilson
 President
Woodrow Wilson appointed him
Secretary of State in 1913, but Wilson's
handling of the Lusitania crisis in 1915
caused Bryan to resign in protest.
•The depression of
the 1890s was the
worst in U.S. history
up to that time.
Farm prices sunk to
new lows.
Unemployment
caused havoc,
desperation and
union militancy
among the urban
working class.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written as
an allegory to the situation that was
happening in the Midwest. Every main
character can be traced to either a particular
person or group of people. Even the word
“Oz” is used to represent the measurement
of gold.
Represents the dehumanized
industrial worker.
He is turned into a machine
back the industrialists
because of his hard work
ethic and not
having another craft to
succeed in.
He eventually becomes
unable to love.
Represents William Jennings Bryan, having a loud
roar but was unable to back it up (bite).
Although the silver had been lost, the
important message is a return to the Midwest
farmer/family. It is where true happiness
remains.
Back in Oz, the Scarecrow now runs the
Emerald City, the Tin man rules in the west,
and the Lion rules over smaller animals in the
forest.
Power has been returned to the people.
Represents the Western industrial influence and is
ultimately destroyed by water (representing pure
nature, a removal of machines).
 Although
the silver had been lost,
the important message is a return
to the Midwest farmer/family.
 It is where true happiness remains.
 Back in Oz, the Scarecrow now
runs the Emerald City.
 the Tin man rules in the west.
 the Lion rules over smaller animals
in the forest.
 Power has been returned to the
people.
 Munn vs. Illinois (1877)- case that
stated the state has the right to
regulate a private business if it is for
the public good.
 Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad
Company vs. Illinois (1886)- case that
severely limited the rights of states to
control interstate commerce. It led to
the creation of the Interstate
Commerce commission.