The Rise and Fall of the Populist Party 1867-1896

Farmers’ Problems Crop prices fell Farmers had no cash, went further into debt, and their lenders foreclosed on their mortgages The railroad companies charged outrageous prices to ship crops (no regulation!)

Farmers’ Demands Regulate the railroad companies (Stop them from charging such high rates) Make cash more available (back the dollar with silver, not gold, so dollar would be worth less) Constitutional demands: single term for President and Vice-President, secret ballot, popular election of Senators To get industrial workers to support them: 8-hour workday, restrict immigration

The Problem with Money Dollars (paper money) are our government’s promise that it has something of equal value, that used to be gold. Paper money was worthless if it couldn’t be turned in for something– gold or silver The Gold Standard: paper dollars can be exchanged for gold Problem: Gold is scarce, so there is only a limited amount to go around. You couldn’t print more money than you had gold to back it with in your bank vaults. Greenbacks: There was no gold to back them. During the war, the government “promised” to pay the value. It didn’t work because of inflation, so they were taken out of circulation

The Problem with Money When the country returned to the Gold Standard, there was less money around for people to pay for things so people couldn’t sell them. When there is no demand for goods, prices drop until goods are cheap enough for people to start buying them. People were so broke that they couldn’t buy things no matter how cheap they were--Economic depression. Falling prices meant less income for people like farmers, they needed a fair price to survive. Wanted more money in circulation, but there wasn’t enough gold to let the government to print more bills. The Silver Proposal: thought that the government use silver and gold to back its currency.

1892 Presidential Election: Populist candidate won over a million votes!

1896 Election Democrats – 1890s Republicans – 1890s William Jennings Bryan Southerners Wealthy farmers Supported low tariffs (wanted other countries to buy their crops) Agreed to support the silver-backed dollar--Populist supported William McKinley Northerners Wealthy business men (connected to the railroad) Southern African Americans (poor farmers) Supported high tariffs (didn’t want to compete with other countries’ products)

1896 Presidential Election: Bryan loses but carries most of the South and West

The End of Populism With McKinley’s win, Populism collapsed. Two important legacies: 1. A message that oppressed could organize and have political impact. The little guy will have his voice. 2. They had an agenda of reforms that would be enacted in the 20th century.

Exit Slip Explain the problem with the Gold Standard and how and why Populists thought that silver backed money would solve the problem.