Ch.5 Sec.3 FARMERS AND THE POPULIST MOVEMENT

Farmers Unite  Late 1800s- farmers were trapped economically  Crop prices were falling  Farmers mortgaged their farms to buy land to produce more crops (more debt)  Railroad were taking advantage of farmers by charging excessive shipping prices

Economic Distress  Farmers troubles were part of large economic problem in the U.S.  Inflation  U.S. issued $500 million in paper money during the Civil War----”Greenbacks”  Were not worth as much as “hard currency” of the same face value  Hard Currency: coins & paper money printed in yellow ink  After war, gov. started taking greenbacks out of circulation  Problem for farmers  Farmers paid back loans in dollars worth more than what they borrowed  Crop prices fell: Wheat (1867)= $ Wheat( 1887)= $0.68  Pushed gov. to put more $ back in circulation

Problems with Railroads  Paid outrageous prices to transport grain  Lack of competition allowed prices to rise  Cheaper to send grain from Chicago to England by boat than it was to send grain from Dakotas to Minneapolis by rail  Farmers use credit  Mortgaged their homes for credit to buy seed, equipment, & supplies  Suppliers charged high rates of interest so that items bought on credit cost more than cash purchases

Farmer’s Alliances  To effectively push for reforms farmers needed to organize  Oliver Hudson Kelley  Started the Grange—social/educational outlet for farm families  Taught farmers how to organize against the railroads and sponsor state legislation to regulate railroads  Farmers’ Alliances  Educated people about low interest rates, loans, and gov. control over railroads and banks  Grew to more than 4 million people (south & west)

Populist Party  Populism- movement of the people  st convention in Omaha, NB  Agenda: lift burden of debt off farmers & give people greater voice in gov.  Party Platform  Economic Reforms  Increase $ supply  Graduated income tax  Federal loan program  Gov. Reforms  Election of U.S. Senators by popular vote  Single terms for President & VP  Secret Ballot  8 hr. workday & restrictions on immigration

Panic of 1893  1880s farmers were overextended by loans  Railroad construction expanded faster than the markets  The Panic  Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Erie, N. Pacific, Union Pacific, and Santa Fe Railroads all went bankrupt  People traded paper money for gold  Stock prices fell drastically  15,000 businesses and 500 banks closed  3 million lost their jobs

Silver OR Gold?  Political Divide  Business owners & bankers (Northeast)—Republicans  Farmers/laborers (South & West)--- Democrats  Campaign Issue  Which metal would be used for money (Silver or Gold? ) 1. Silverites favoring bimetallism—gov. gives gold/silver in exchange for paper currency  Hoped to stimulate economy by allowing more $ in circulation 2. Gold Bugs (President Cleveland) favored gold standard---back dollars with gold only  More stable/expensive $  Important issue because it would determine if the people’s paper $ was worthless or not

1896 Candidates  Republican- William McKinley (Ohio)  Democrat- William Jennings Bryan (Nebraska)  ENDORSED BY THE POPULIST PARTY  Campaign  Bryan  campaigned in 27 different states  No match for $$ backing McKinley  McKinley campaigned from his front porch while people traveled the country speaking for him  Results  McKinley won approx. 7 million votes  Bryan 6.5 million votes  Electoral college made McKinley the 25 th President