Populism
Mr. Stroman
US History
The Plight of Farmers
• In 1873 and 1893, railroads collapsed, causing
widespread economic panic
– Banks and businesses failed, unemployment rose
• Farmers hit hardest
– Falling crop prices and loans called in by banks
– Came to want federal government intervention
Farmers’ Concerns
• Tariffs
– Tariffs raised the prices on manufactured goods like farm
machinery & reduced the market for US farm products
• The money supply
– Government attempts to take paper money out of
circulation, decreasing the money supply and causing
deflation, which hurt farmers who had taken out loans
Gold Bugs vs. Silverites
• US money had been on a bimetallic standard
– Currency consisted of gold or silver coins, or paper
money that could be traded for gold or silver
• Congress institutes gold standard in 1873
– What effect did this have on the money supply?
• “Gold bugs” favored the gold standard
• “Silverites” argued that cutting out silver would
depress farm prices
– Called for free silver, the unlimited coining of silver
dollars to increase the money supply
– Greenback Party joins the silverites’ efforts
Gold Bugs vs. Silverites
• Silverites applauded the Brand-Allison Act
– Required government to buy and coin more silver
– Passed over President Hayes’s veto
– Didn’t have the desired effect, because Treasury refused to
buy more than the minimum amount of silver & refused to
circulate silver dollars
• Sherman Silver Purchase Act also appealed to
silverites
– Increased amount of silver that the government was
required to purchase every month
– Panic of 1893 happened when government’s gold reserves
dwindled and foreign investors pulled gold
– President Grover Cleveland oversaw its repeal
Farmers Protest
• Farmers take advantage of new communications
tools to organize protests
• Oliver H. Kelley founded the Grange, which helped
farmers form cooperatives, through which they
bought more goods at lower prices
• The Grange also helped to lobby state legislatures
to regulate businesses on which farmers depended
• The Grange still exists today
Farmers Protest
• Farmers’ Alliances launch attacks on monopolies that
hurt their interests
• Southern Farmers’ Alliance especially powerful
– Called for federal regulation of railroads, more money in
circulation, creation of state departments of agriculture,
antitrust laws, and farm credit
• Many women served as officers in Farmers’ Alliances &
won support for women’s rights
• African American farmers formed their own alliances
• Alliances wanted to know why federal government
wasn’t responding to natural disasters that impacted
farmers
Government Responses
• Farmers differed on how much federal help was
needed
• Business interests not strong enough to block laws
• Political parties fragmented
– Presidents frequently don’t have majorities in Congress,
and therefore can’t act as decisively as preferred
• President Cleveland signed the Interstate
Commerce Act, which required railroads to set
prices proportional to distance traveled to move
freight
– Also couldn’t give special rates to some customers
The Populists
• Many small political parties associated with
Farmers’ Alliances began to see some success,
especially in the South
• The People’s Party, or Populists, was formed in 1891
• 4 main issues:
– Increased circulation of money
– Unlimited mining of silver
– Progressive income tax, in which richer people are taxed
at a greater percentage
– Government ownership of communication and
transportation systems
The Populists
• The Populists also endorsed an eight-hour work day,
seeking the support of urban industrial workers
• Also sought a united front of African American and
white farmers
– Often endorsed the same candidates as the Republicans
for this reason
• Could not win the presidency
Bryan’s “Cross of Gold”
• Many issues culminated in the 1896 presidential
election between gold bug William McKinley (R)
and silverite William Jennings Bryan (D/Populist)
• Bryan famously addressed the Democratic National
Convention with his Cross of Gold speech, in which
he made an impassioned plea for free silver
Results:
PV: McKinley 51%, Bryan 47%
EV: McKinley 271, Bryan 176
Populism’s Legacy
• McKinley’s administration raised tariffs
• Congress returns to gold standard after new
discoveries in South Africa, Alaska, and Canada
– But prices rose for farmers
• Populist and silverite movements die out
– Their issues are no longer relevant
• The goals of populism remained intact, as we will
see later in the Progressive Era.