Populism Americans Seek Prosperity and Opportunity

Economic Factors Hurt Farmers New Technology New Technology Overproduction Overproduction High Tariffs High Tariffs Large Distant Forces Added To Farmers Woes Banks Banks Railroads Railroads

The Money Supply Greenbacks To Finance War Non-exchangeable for gold or silver Non-exchangeable for gold or silver Caused inflation and the rise of prices Caused inflation and the rise of prices After War Government Tried To Control Inflation Paid off bonds Paid off bonds Stopped printing greenbacks Stopped printing greenbacks Result: Deflation

Deflation Interest Rates Rose Prices Fell Farmers Struggled To Make Ends Meet They Blamed Their Struggles On Eastern Bankers And Railroads They Wanted The Government To Print More Money Particularly Silver Coins

The Grange Formed in 1866 By Oliver H. Kelly Designed As Educational And Social Organization With The Recession Of 1873 More Farmers Joined By 1874 The Grange Had Over 800,000 members The Grange Became More Of A Political Movement With Three Basic Goals

Three Responses of The Grange Some Tried To Pressure Congress To Regulate Railroad And Warehouse Rates Others Joined The Independent National Party Grangers Also Formed Co-ops All Of These Failed

The Farmers Alliance Began in Lampasas County Tx in 1877 By 1885 It Had Developed A Large Following In Texas 1886 New Leader Charles W. Macune Urged the Organization To Go National By 1890 It Had Between 1.3 And 1.5 Million Members Gained Great Strength In The South And On The Great Plains

Success And Failure The Farmers Alliance Set Up Large Co-op Designed To Raise Prices And Provide Loans Their Members These Co-ops Failed Because They Over Spent, Were Discriminated Against By Large Banks And Warehouses, And Were Too Small To Affect World Wide Prices

The People’s Party Some Western Members Of The Farmers Alliance Wanted To Form A New Party Some Kansas Members Formed The Peoples Party In 1890 They Nominated Candidates To Run For Congress And State Legislatures

Opposition To The Populists Southern Members Of The Farmers Alliance Did Not Want To Challenge The Democrats’ Control Of The South They Hoped To Get Democratic Candidates To Meet Their Wants Charles Macune suggested the Subtreasury Plan Charles Macune suggested the Subtreasury Plan

The Subtreasury Plan Government Would Set Up Warehouses Where Farmers Could Store Their Crops And Raise Prices. Macune Hoped Democrats Would Adopt This Plan

The Rise Of Populism 1890 Populists Met In Ocala Florida Produced The Ocala Demands Adopt The Subtreasury System Free Coinage Of Silver End Protective Tariffs End Protective Tariffs Tighter Regulations On Railroads Tighter Regulations On Railroads Direct Election Of Senators Direct Election Of Senators Republicans Countered With The Sherman Silver Purchase Act Of 1890

Populist For President July 1892 Populists Hold First National Convention In Omaha Nebraska Nominated James B. Weaver Developed A Platform Called For A Return To Coining Silver Called For A Return To Coining Silver Federalization Of The Railroad Federalization Of The Railroad Graduated Income Tax Graduated Income Tax

Election 1892 Won By Grover Cleveland James Weaver Won 22 Electoral Votes and Four States

Panic of 1893 Worst Economic Crisis In Nation’s History To That Time Several Railroads Went Bankrupt And Took Some Banks With Them 690,000 Workers Went On Strike 4.6 Million Workers Unemployed 18% Of The Population

Reaction To The Panic President Cleveland Pushed Congress To Repeal Sherman Silver Purchase Act This Act Divided The Democratic Party Into Goldbugs And Silverites

Election Of 1896 Republicans Nominate William McKinley Democrats Nominate William Jennings Bryan Populists Forced To Endorse Bryan Bryan Ran Very Energetic Campaign McKinley Used A “Front Porch Campaign”

Decline Of Populism The Depression Ended More gold Found In Canada And Alaska Credit Became Easier To Obtain 1900 U.S. Officially Adopts Gold Standard

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