1. Populism and the Crisis of the 1890s By Neil Hammond Millbrook High School

2. Introduction 1888 last of the “status quo votes” – Impact of McKinley Tariff Cleveland won big – Impact of the economy

3. The Populist Party Emerges in the early 1890s 1) Australian ballot 2) graduated income tax 3) nationalization of the US transportation system 4) currency based on silver 5) sub treasuries 6) inexpensive farm loans 7) regulation of railroads

4. The 1892 Election This map shows the percentage of the popular vote won by James B. Weaver, the People's Party candidate, in the presidential election of 1892. Except in California and Montana, the Populists won broad support across the West and genuinely threatened the established parties in that region. The Populist Party is one of the few third parties to actually win electoral college votes Women

5. Free Silver Takes Hold Free silver triggered a debate for the soul of the Populist Party. It threatened their alliance with workers, who had no enthusiasm for inflationary measures. The bread-and-butter appeal of free silver, however, was simply too great. But once Populists made that choice, they fatally compromised their party's identity as an independent movement. For free silver was not an issue over which Populists held a monopoly. It was, on the contrary, a question at the very center of mainstream American politics.

6. Free Silver Debate

7. The Debate “The Crime of 1873” Soon silver mining in the West surged, and the price of silver suddenly fell. The greenback supporters began agitating for a resumption of the bimetallic policy. If the federal government resumed buying at the fixed ratio prevailing before 1873—16 ounces of silver equaling 1 ounce of gold—silver would flow into the treasury and greatly expand the volume of money.

8. A Brief History of the Money With so much at stake for so many people, the currency question became one of the staples of post- Reconstruction politics. Twice the pro-silver coalition in Congress won modest victories. First, the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 required the U.S. Treasury to purchase and coin between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver each month. Then, in the more sweeping Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, an additional 4.5 million ounces of silver bullion was to be purchased monthly, to serve as the basis for new issues of U.S. Treasury notes. These legislative battles, although hard fought, cut across party lines, in the familiar fashion of post-Reconstruction politics. But in the early 1890s, as hard times set in, silver suddenly became a defining issue between the parties; in particular, it radicalized the Democrats.

9. Cleveland’s Disastrous 2 nd Term Cleveland’s 2 nd term coincided with a terrible economic depression Video Clip – Coxley’s army – Homestead Strike – Pullman Strike – Cleveland believed in gold – Turned to JP Morgan for help in 1895

10. 1896 Election Republicans: William McKinley Democrats: William Jennings Bryan Map Source

11. What is this cartoon’s attitude toward William Jennings Bryan?

12. What is this cartoon’s attitude toward William Jennings Bryan In this cartoon by Grant Hamilton, Bryan is accused of cynically using the cross and crown of thorns for political purposes. What Bryan's really up to, the cartoon suggests, is revolution, hence in the background a pillaged city and the little man, right out of the French revolution.

13. The Election of 1896 The 1896 election marked the beginning of forty years of Republican dominance in national politics.

14. The Significance of 1896 The Republicans skillfully turned both economic and cultural challenges to their advantage. They persuaded the nation that they were the party of prosperity, and they persuaded many traditionally Democratic urban voters that they were sympathetic to ethnic diversity. The workers of the East rejected Populism.