Populists notes- Mrs. Civitella
Populists- political movement of farmers which claimed that laissez-faire capitalism and big
business were responsible for the the worsening economic circumstances in rural America.
(the official name of the Populists was the People’s Party)
1867- The Patrons of Husbandry, usually referred to as the Grange organized as a secret
society with the purpose of advancing the social and cultural activities of people living in rural
areas.
1873- Panic of 1873 – membership in the Grange grew in national scope with local chapters in
all farm states. Members sensed the need for political action.
1870s- the Grange secured passage of laws to limit railroad rates and other pro-agricultural laws.
The Grange supported the Populists in the 1890s and is still in existence as an agricultural
lobbying organization today.
1880s- Farmers’ Alliances are organized quasi-political organizations formed regionally to
represent agricultural interests ( Southern Alliance, National Farmers’ Alliance of the Northwest,
state alliances in states like Kansas and the Dakotas)
1890- Sherman Silver Purchase Act- pro-silver interests passed legislation authorizing
Congress to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver each month at market prices, and issue Treasury
notes redeemable in gold and silver. This act created inflation and lowered gold reserves.
1890- McKinley Tariff- one of the highest tariffs in U.S. history, increasing the tax on foreign
goods to almost 50%. The tariff was popular with industrialists and unpopular with farmers
which led to the creation of the Populist Party.
1891- Populist Party formed as the Farmers’ Alliance merged with liberal Democrats who were
suffering from the ill effects the McKinley Tariff (1890)
1892- the People’s Party (official name for the Populists) candidate James B. Weaver carried
four western states in the presidential campaign and by 1894; Populists had elected 4 senators, 4
congressmen, 21 state executive positions, 150 state senators, and 315 state representatives,
primarily in the West and South. These electoral victories represented the first agrarian protest to
challenge the two-party system.
Populist’s platform:
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Wanted the unlimited coinage of sliver
A graduated income tax
Government ownership of railroads, telegraph and telephone lines
Direct election of US Senators
Single term limits for presidents (6 years)
Referendums for citizens to bypass legislators
Shorter workday
Immigration restrictions
Ban on private armies used by corporations to break up strikes
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1893- Depression of 1893
The Treasury’s gold reserves sunk below $100 million dollars
If the country depleted its gold reserves it would have made the American economy even worse
and ruin our credit abroad
1894- in an effort to prevent more gold from being depleted from the reserves, Cleveland
repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
1894- wealthy business owner, Jacob S. Coxey set out with 500 men for Washington D.C., to
petition the federal government for cheap money and debt-relief programs. When “Coxey’s
Army” reached the capitol building, Cleveland refused to meet with them and they were arrested
for trespassing on the lawn
1895-when the repeal of the Silver Act did not improve the economy, Cleveland borrowed more
that $60 million dollars from Wall Street financer J.P. Morgan
1896- Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan who delivered his famous
“Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic Convention
Conservatives fearing cheap money and inflation, rallied behind William McKinley (R-OH) and
gave $15 million dollars to McKinley’s campaign
Some Democrats claimed that McKinley had “bought the White House”
1900- McKinley signed the Gold Standard Act which stabilized the value of the dollar to one
once of gold
The Bryan campaign of 1896 effectively ended the Populist Movement. The Populists then
became a part of the Democratic Party. Many elements of the Populist platform would be
adopted into law in the Progressive Era.
This election also marked the last time that a presidential candidate tried to win by appealing to
agricultural interests.
Bryan went on to run for the presidency for the Democratic Party again in 1900 and 1908. He
lost every time.
The populists did not include black farmers who created the Colored Farmers’ National
Alliance. Populist leaders like Tom Watson- (P-GA) initially reached out to black farmers but
eventually racist pressure from the southern planter elite resulted in poor white southerners being
pulled to the populists and away from the Republican party. The result of which were white
southerners more frequently using literacy tests, poll taxes and “grandfather clauses” to exclude
southern black voters.
The term populism has now come to mean any political movement that advocates on behalf of the
common person, particularly for government intervention against big business
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