The Origins of the Populist
Movement
Inaugurating the Modern World
What Was the Populist Movement?
•Midwest farmers joined together against the government because of lack of
support
•Prices for growing were high and crop value was low; the drought of the
1890’s had devastated the soil
•Farmers had resentment with the railroads, their loaners, grain-elevator
operators, and generally everyone who they did business with
•They felt generally slighted, and wanted some sort of union reduce some of
their struggles
The National Farmers Alliance and the National Colored Alliance were created
to provide some relief
The City and Farm from 1865 to 1900
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In addition to its Western Frontier, America had an “Urban
Frontier”-- an unexplored capacity to develop large cities
As farming techniques advanced, fewer and fewer farmers were
needed to supply food, even for a growing population
Industrialization and the jobs it offered drew farmers into the newly
developing cities
The invention of steel allowed for unparalleled growth of buildings
and contributed greatly to industrialization
Skyscrapers began to be constructed in cities, an evident display of
movement toward the modern world
Commuting from home to work became a widespread activity, also
displaying a move toward modernity
The Effects of the City
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New technology such as electric trolleys and advances in
communication and building techniques contributed to the growth
of cities
“Humanity compressed”-- the previously unprecedented
concentration of people in cities created new problems in the
nation
Crime and sanitation became major issues
Slums, dumbbell tenements, and flophouses provided very
cheap housing for the impoverished but had extremely poor
living conditions
Great amounts of waste disposal represented a cultural shift
Population Growth in Large Cities,
1850-1900
City
1850
Population
1900
Population
Percent growth
New York
1,200,000
3,000,000
250%
Philadelphia
560,000
1,300,000
230%
Pittsburg
67,000
450,000
670%
Chicago
30,000
1,700,000
5666%
Denver
0
134,000
---
Minneapolis
2,500
200,000
8000%
Los Angeles
5,000
100,000
2000%
The City of
1880
Immigration
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Before 1880, most immigrants were from the British
Isles, Germany, or Scandinavia, and were Protestant in
religion
In the 1880’s more diverse groups began to immigrate
to America, including Italians, Croats, Slovaks, Greeks,
and Poles who were Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish
The importation of American food and the cultivation of
the potato caused great booms in European population
while making farming an occupation needed less and
less
Immigration
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Unprecedented growth in population caused poor
Europeans to seek an escape from the crowdedness
Minority persecution, especially of Jews, caused many
to flee their European homes
Profit seekers advertised America’s famous abundance- employers saw the opportunity for cheap labor in
incoming immigrants
Immigrants came from many countries with no
democratic background and were largely illiterate and
impoverished; many took factory jobs
Impact of Immigration on America
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The national government rejected few immigrants and did very little to help
immigrants assimilate into the country, resulting in a very large new population in
need of employment and housing
This new population greatly increased the population of cities, intensifying the
issue of sanitation and unemployment within those cities
Groups of people such as churches and women began to alleviate the poverty of
the immigrants through methods sometimes deemed as socialist. This activism
prepared many to become activists in the worker’s rights movement
Through this new influx of people, America became the racially and ethnically
diverse nation we know today
Antiforeignism, called “nativism,” became widespread throughout the nation
because of discrimination against Irish, German, and Eastern Europeans
Immigrants were accused of degrading the urban environment and of being
proponents of socialism, communism, and anarchism; they were also
Immigrants
Silver vs Gold
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After the Civil War, backing currency with precious metal
became a question and issue
Republicans sought to draw back paper money, called
Greenbacks, issued during the Civil War until all money was
metal based, while Democrats saw these actions as only
withdrawing money circulation and good economy from the
people
The unlimited use of silver as money was called “free silver,”
and its proponents, called silverists, saw it as the solution to
end the nation’s monetary and economic troubles
Its opponents, mainly Republicans, predicted that free silver
Anti Silverist
Propaganda
Election of 1892
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Grover Cleveland (Democrat) v Benjamin Harrison
(Republican, Incumbent)
Another important candidate was James B. Weaver of
the Populist Party, appealing to the miners and farmers
of America through promises of unlimited coinage of
silver and government ownership of railroads
Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats had a
unified party as the West and the South called for silver
programs
Weaver registered electoral votes
Coxey’s Army
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A group of unemployed workers who in 1894
marched to Washington D.C. to protest
unemployment
Led by Jacob Coxey, an Ohio politician
First significant popular protest march on
Washington
Response to the Panic of 1893 which caused large
amounts of unemployment
Called for the government to create jobs by building
Coxey’s Army
Election of 1896
•Republican William McKinley v. Democrat William J. Bryan
•Considered a realigning election because it began the Fourth Party
System
•Had very high turnout- in some areas turnout surpassed 90% of
eligible voters
•Money issues, including silver, gold, tariffs, and taxes were highly
discussed because the nation was in its deepest depression to the date
•McKinley was the champion with 271 electoral votes (51% of popular
vote)
William McKinley (R)
•Born January 29, 1843 in Ohio
•Heavily represented profitable farmers,
factory workers, and businessmen
•Was strongly supported in the Northeast,
Pacific Northwest, and the Upper Midwest
•Used a new form of campaigning that is still very prevalent
and effective today
William J Bryan (D)
•Born March 19, 1860, home state Nebraska
•Candidate with ideas most in alignment with the populist party
•Campaigned with a goal of liberating the working man from under the
rich man
•Emphasized changing the currency to be backed in silver rather than
gold to relieve some of the economic depression
•Strongest supporters lived in the South, farming Midwest, and Rocky
Mountain area
Democratic nominees, 1896
Culture in the Late 1800’s
•The “middle class lifestyle” gained its footing during this time
•It opened the doors for more equality among people- clothes and
lifestyles became very similar no matter the class, creating a “mass
culture”
•Medical improvements were made that increased the average life
expectancy and helped treat common illnesses
•Urbanization and increased transportation methods helped families to
move outside of cities
•Women began taking some jobs as more women’s colleges were
opened
Amusement in the Late
1800’s
•Children began going to school for longer- all the way into high school
because of industrialization
•Literacy rates increased and reading of newspapers and
magazines became a part of daily life
•Art and literature either glorified the good of the time or
exaggerated the bad
•The rise of amusement parks and traveling “circuses”
occurred
•“Movies” (moving pictures with no sound) began being produced at this
time
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900 by
L. Frank Baum
People have attempted to pin real political/social figures
on the fictional characters
It is commonly agreed that the “yellow brick road”
represents the gold standard, and Dorothy’s silver
shoes are symbolic of the populist push for a silverbacked system
Glinda the Good Witch of the South represents William
Jennings Bryan
The Wizard of Oz
The 1939 film Based on Baum’s
novel
“Maple Leaf Rag”
Intellectuals
•Mark Twain wrote a book entitled The Gilded Age referring to something
rotten on the inside but gold coated on the outside
•This phrase was later accepted by historians as an accurate way to classify this
time period
•Darwinism was experiencing a rise after being published in 1859
•Many psychologists began to attempt to treat people with nervousness, anxiety,
depression, and other mental illnesses
–For women they attempted methods of isolation, berets, a high-meat diet, and
massage
–Men were sent west to cattle and ranch because doctors thought that these
symptoms
were the result of overstimulation of the brain
Bibliography
Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Chapter 25: America Moves to the City, 1865-1900" StudyNotes.org. StudyNotes, Inc., 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 24
Nov. 2014.
<//www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/outlines/chapter-25-america-moves-to-the-city-1865-1900/>.
"Coxey's Army". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/141354/Coxeys-Army>.
Democratic Nominees for President William J. Bryan of Nebraska [and] Arthur Sewall of Maine for Vice President Nominated at
Chicago, Illinois,
Friday, July 10th 1896. 1896. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
"Digital History." Digital History. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
"Election of 1892." Election of 1892. United States History, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h788.html>.
Edwards, Rebecca. "1896: The Currency Question." 1896: The Currency Question. Vassar College, 2000. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
<http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/currency.html>.
Huston. Social and Cultural Trends of the Late 1800's. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Bibliography
Louise. "Christmas New York City 1881." Halfway Brook. Halfway Brook, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Nov.
2014. <http://halfwaybrook.com/?p=2063>.
Postel, Charles. "American Populism: An Overview of Populism." American Populism: An Overview of
Populism. N.p., 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Stiles, Anne. "Go Rest, Young Man." <http://www.apa.org> American Psychological Society, Jan.
2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.
"William McKinley Photo Gallery." History. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Monetary Reformer's Brief Symbol Glossary." The Money Masters.
N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
Wormser, Richard. "Populist Party." PBS. PBS, 2002. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.