Populism and Politics

Populism Populism was a movement to increase farmers’ political power Farmers were having economic problems Supply went up and price went down Inflation Deflation

Rise of the People’s Party Next step was to form a political party 1892 People’s Party was formally organized Enthusiasm was particularly strong in the newly admitted states of North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho Met on July 4, 1892 in Omaha A U.S. political party that sought to represent the interests of farmers and laborers in the 1890s. The Farmers' Alliances agitated for railroad regulation, tax reform, and unlimited coinage of silver and attempted to influence the established political parties. Growth was so rapid, however, that interest in a third party began to increase; in 1891 delegates from farm and labor organizations met in Cincinnati. No decision was made to form a political party, but when the Republican and Democratic parties both straddled the currency question at the 1892 presidential conventions, a convention was held at Omaha, and the Populist party was formed (1892). In 1892 the national party was officially founded through a merger of the Farmers' Alliance and the Knights of Labor.

1892 Election Results

William Jennings Bryan Former U.S. Congressmen from Nebraska Lost a bid for Senate in 1894 Newcomer to the Democratic Party Stealth campaign to get the nomination “Cross of Gold” secured his nomination William Jennings Bryan was a former two term U.S. Congressmen from Nebraska who had a talent for public speaking. He was a key figure in the silver movement since he gave a speech on the congress floor opposing the repeal of the silver purchase act. He actually earned a few nicknames from that speech some of them are the Nebraska Cyclone, and Knight of the West. In 1894 he lost a bid for the Senate and began working as an editor for the pro-silver newspaper Omaha World Herald. In 1896 Bryan was a new-comer to the Democratic Party and thought that a lot of self promotion would backfire. So he quietly began to work on delegates to get enough votes for the presidential nomination. On July 9th he gave his famous “Cross of Gold” speech which in the end secured his nomination on the democratic ticket.

Cross of Gold “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” Received a 15 minutes ovation Somewhere around 16 references to the Bible. Delegates stood on chairs, waved hats or whatever they could find. Nominated on the 5th ballot The People’s Party were having a great dilemma, they didn’t know if they wanted to support the Democrats and Bryan. But since they were a decent sized third party they believed that if they didn’t support him they would surely defeat him.

Campaign of 1896 Bryan crisscrossed the country Setting records for: Speeches given (including 36 in one day) Miles traveled (18,000 by train) People seen during the campaign (about 5 million) Few candidates have ever stirred up as much enthusiasm among supporters The Democratic V.P. candidate was Tom Watson from GA.

William McKinley countered with a “front-porch campaign” Sent out 1,500 speakers around the country and over 275 million leaflets and pamphlets

1896 Election Results McKinley proclaims the virtues of "Patriotism, Protection, and Prosperity." McKinley was the first presidential candidate since 1872 to receive a popular majority. He was re-elected in 1900 and served until his assassination in 1901.

Some historians say that William Jennings Bryan was the first U. S Some historians say that William Jennings Bryan was the first U.S. celebrity politician

Bryan Could Not Overcome He was a candidate from the incumbent party Republicans outspent the Democrats almost 30-to-1

Legacies of the Election of 1896 Pushed the Democratic Party to the left on economic issues Political platforms swung decidedly more liberal direction after the turn of the century Most of the more liberal views of the Populist were taken up by the Progressive Era

Wizard of Oz, A Populist Parable?

Color of Money Yellow Brick Road Dorothy’s Silver Shoes Emerald City Gold Standard Dorothy’s Silver Shoes Bimetallic standard of gold and silver Emerald City Washington D.C.

Tin Man- Industrial Workingman Cowardly Lion- William Jennings Bryan Farmer- often derided as stupid and solely to blame for their economic problems, but smarter than he thinks and becomes the hero of the story Industrial workingman- industrialization alienation the worker from his own humanity Bryan- not really willing to make a stand on anything, lost the election of 1896 Scarecrow- Farmer Tin Man- Industrial Workingman Cowardly Lion- William Jennings Bryan

Wicked Witch of the East- Wall Street and Big Business Wicked Witch of the West- Drought So if the wicked witch of the west is drought, what is the only way to defeat drought? WATER