The Populists

What were some of the major problems facing farmers during the Gilded Age ??

Problems of the Farmers Drought Surpluses Prices set by world market Railroad corruption Debt & monetary policies

Farmer’s Organize The Grange The Southern Alliance The Coop

Demands for Reform Tariff Banking Currency Laws

Catalyst: 1891 = Banks began to foreclose on farm mortgages The Farmer is the Man When the banker says he's broke And the merchant’s up in smoke, They forget that it's the farmer who feeds them all. It would put them to the test If the farmer took a rest; Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds them all.

The Silver Issue “Crime of ’73”  demonetization of silver (govt. stopped coining silver). Bland-Allison Act (1878)  limited silver coinage to $2-$4 mil. per mo. (based on the 16:1 ratio of silver to gold). Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890) The US Treasury must purchase $4.5 mil. oz. of silver a month. Govt. deposited most silver in the US Treasury rather than circulation.

Platform of Lunacy

The Populist (Peoples’) Party James B. Weaver, Presidential Candidate Founded by James B. Weaver and Tom Watson. Omaha, NE Convention in July, 1892. Got almost 1 million popular votes. Several Congressional seats won. James B. Weaver, Presidential Candidate

Omaha Platform, 1892 Free unlimited coinage of silver National income tax

Omaha Platform, 1892 Government ownership of Railroads, telephone, telegraphs

Government secured loans to farmers Treasury storehouse for surplus crops 8 hour work day Direct election of Senators Initiative & referendum Australian (secret) ballot

1892 Election

Panic of 1893 Over 16,000 businesses disappeared. Triggered stock market crash. 500 Bank failures. 3 million unemployed. Govt. continued laissez faire policies.

William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) Nebraska Senator 1896 Populist & Democratic Nominee for President The “Great Commoner”

“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!”

Bryan: The Farmers Friend 18,000 miles of campaign “whistle stops.”

Mark Hanna: The “Front-Porch” Campaign William McKinley (1843-1901)

The Seasoned Politician vs. The “Young” Newcomer

Into Which Box Will the Voter of ’96 Place His Ballot?

1896 Election Results

Heyday of Western Populism

Gold Triumphs Over Silver 1900  Gold Standard Act confirmed the nation’s commitment to the gold standard. Other Populist reforms were adopted by Dem. & Republicans

Analyze the ways in which technology, government policy, and economic conditions changed American Agriculture in the period 1865-1900. In your answer be sure to evaluate farmer’s responses to theses changes.

Technology Railroads: Chemical fertilizers Grain elevators Dry farming Standard gauge track Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe Great Northern Refrigerated cars Chemical fertilizers Grain elevators Dry farming Irrigation expensive w/o government aid windmills Meatpacking processes Swift & Armour Improvements in Steel plows Threshers windmills

Economic Conditions Boom & bust cycles Extension of commercial farming Panics of ’73, ’93 Overproduction= crop surpluses Railroad policies Short/long haul Rebates/drawbacks Sharecropping (south)

Government Policies Homestead Act (’62) High tariffs Gold Standard Dingley McKinley Gold Standard Interstate Commerce Commission Oklahoma Land Rush Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Farmer’s Responses Election of 1896 The Grange Bimetalism Populist Party Omaha Platform (include details & success of) Populists James Weaver Tom Watson Pitchfork Ben Tillman Sockless Jerry Simpson Mary Elizabeth Lease William Jennings Bryan Election of 1896