Enter
the
Populists
1892Why1896
do you think the
artist used the term
“Platform of Lunacy”
when describing the
Populist “ship”?
The Grange Movement
First organized in the 1870s in the
Midwest, the south, and Texas.
Set up cooperative associations.
Social and educational components.
Succeeded in lobbying for“Granger
Laws.”
Rapidly declined by the late 1870s.
The Farmers Alliances
 Begun in the late 1880s (Texas first 
the Southern Alliance; then in the
Midwest  the Northern Alliance).
 Built upon the ashes of the Grange.
 More political and less social than the Grange.
 Ran candidates for office.
 Controlled 8 state legislatures & had 47
representatives in Congress during the 1890s.
United
We
Stand,
Divided
We Fall
 In 1889 both
the Northern and
Southern Alliances
merged into one—the
Farmers’ Alliance.
The Populist (Peoples’) Party
 Founded by James B. Weaver
and Tom Watson.
 Omaha, NE Convention in July,
1892.
 Got almost 1 million popular
votes.
 Several Congressional seats
won.
James B. Weaver,
Presidential Candidate
&
James G. Field, VP
The Populist (Peoples) Party
 1890 Bi-Election:
 So. Alliance  wanted to
gain control of the Democratic Party.
 No. Alliance  ran 3rd Party candidates.
 1892  800 met in St. Louis, MO
 majority were Alliance members.
 over 100 were African Americans.
 reps. of labor organizations & other
reformers (Grange, Greenback Party).
Omaha Platform of 1892
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-monitization of silver.
11. A single term for President & Vice President.
Bi-Metallism Issue
The Prophets of the People
Mary Elizabeth Lease
William Hope Harvey
Price Indexes for Consumer &
Farm Products: 1865-1913
Causes of the 1893 Panic
Begun 10 days after Cleveland took office.
1. Several major corps. went bankrupt.
 Over 16,000 businesses disappeared.
 Triggered a stock market crash.
 Over-extended investments.
2. Bank failures followed causing a contraction
of credit [nearly 500 banks closed].
3. By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million.
 Americans cried out for relief, but the Govt.
continued its laissez faire policies!!
Outcome of the Depression
Unemployment Rates
(approx.)
1892 3.0
1893 11.7
1894 18.4
1895 13.7
1896 14.5
Coxey’s Army
March on DC
Gov’t relief needed by inflating public works
Arrested in DC for walking on the grass
Outcome of the Depression
Pullman Strike
Chicago Railcar Factory: 1894
Panic of 1893 cuts demand
Pullman cuts wages
12 hour workdays
Cut wages but no lowering of rents
Nation wide sympathy strikes
Rail traffic slows heavily
Eugene V. Debs leads
Blacks brought in as replacement work
Strike become violent
US Soldiers sent in by Grover Cleveland
Eugene V. Debs
Arrested and sentenced to jail
6 months for defying court order to stop strike
Developed more radical and socialist ideas in prison
Later wrote and helped grow Socialist party in US
Sound familiar???
1896
Republicans
Nominated:
William McKinley
Controlled by:
Mark Hanna
Platform Called For:
Lean towards Gold only, high tariffs, blamed Democrats for Depress
1896
Democrats
Nominated:
William Jennings Bryan
Rise to Fame:
Cross of Gold Speech at
1896 Democratic Convention
Platform Called For:
16:1 silver to gold, lower tariff, inflationary works
1896
Cross of Gold Speech
"Having behind us the producing masses
of
this nation and the world, supported by
the
commercial interests, the laboring
interests
and the toilers everywhere, we will answer
You
shall not
upon by
the brow of labor this crown of
their
demand
forpress
a golddown
standard
thorns,
saying
you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."
From: Coin’s Financial School
Republican Campaign Poster in 1896
1896
McKinley wins final
election: 271-176
The Campaign:
Bryan barnstormed the nation giving speeches
McKinley stayed at home, relying on Hanna’s campaign chest to pay for results
Democrat “Goldbugs” bolted
Fear of Bryan and free silver affected factories and workers
1896-1900
1897: Dingley Tariff Bill Passed
(average rate of 46.5%
1900: Gold Standard Act passed, all
redemptions in gold only
Huge Gold discoveries in Klondike and
South Africa helped inflate Gold supply