1. POPULISM The movement of the people

2. Question…  Can a small minority create large-scale change?

3. Farmer’s Problems  Falling prices for crops  Inflation  High cost to transport goods

4. Political Power  To fix their problems, farmers organized  Formed Populist Party and Farmers’ Alliances

5. Farmers Unite!  The Grange: a group formed to educate farmers in best practices and group ownership  Interstate Commerce Act: legislation that regulated railroads and forced fair prices

6. Populist Beliefs  Increase the money supply  Graduated Income tax (if you make more, you pay more)  Election of senate by popular vote (not appointed)  8 hour work day

7. Problems in 1893  Railroads went bankrupt  Gvmt. Ran low on gold  Stock market fell  20% unemployment

8. Solutions  Bimetallists: wanted gvmt to back money with gold and silver (Populists)  Gold Bugs: wanted gvmt to back money with only gold

9. In the End…  1896 Election  Dems: Bimmetalists ran William Jennings Bryan  Repubs: Gold Bugs, ran William McKinley  McKinley won  Collapse of Populism

10. In the End…  Many Populist ideas were taken up by the major political parties