Populism

Mr. StromanUS History

The Plight of Farmers

• In 1873 and 1893, railroads collapsed, causing widespread economic panic– Banks and businesses failed, unemployment rose

• Farmers hit hardest– Falling crop prices and loans called in by banks– Came to want federal government intervention

Farmers’ Concerns

• Tariffs– Tariffs raised the prices on manufactured goods like farm

machinery & reduced the market for US farm products• The money supply– Government attempts to take paper money out of

circulation, decreasing the money supply and causing deflation, which hurt farmers who had taken out loans

Gold Bugs vs. Silverites

• US money had been on a bimetallic standard– Currency consisted of gold or silver coins, or paper money

that could be traded for gold or silver• Congress institutes gold standard in 1873– What effect did this have on the money supply?

• “Gold bugs” favored the gold standard• “Silverites” argued that cutting out silver would

depress farm prices– Called for free silver, the unlimited coining of silver dollars

to increase the money supply– Greenback Party joins the silverites’ efforts

Gold Bugs vs. Silverites• Silverites applauded the Brand-Allison Act– Required government to buy and coin more silver– Passed over President Hayes’s veto– Didn’t have the desired effect, because Treasury refused to

buy more than the minimum amount of silver & refused to circulate silver dollars

• Sherman Silver Purchase Act also appealed to silverites– Increased amount of silver that the government was

required to purchase every month– Panic of 1893 happened when government’s gold reserves

dwindled and foreign investors pulled gold– President Grover Cleveland oversaw its repeal

Farmers Protest

• Farmers take advantage of new communications tools to organize protests

• Oliver H. Kelley founded the Grange, which helped farmers form cooperatives, through which they bought more goods at lower prices

• The Grange also helped to lobby state legislatures to regulate businesses on which farmers depended

• The Grange still exists today

Farmers Protest• Farmers’ Alliances launch attacks on monopolies that hurt

their interests• Southern Farmers’ Alliance especially powerful– Called for federal regulation of railroads, more money in

circulation, creation of state departments of agriculture, antitrust laws, and farm credit

• Many women served as officers in Farmers’ Alliances & won support for women’s rights

• African American farmers formed their own alliances• Alliances wanted to know why federal government wasn’t

responding to natural disasters that impacted farmers

Government Responses

• Farmers differed on how much federal help was needed

• Business interests not strong enough to block laws• Political parties fragmented– Presidents frequently don’t have majorities in Congress,

and therefore can’t act as decisively as preferred• President Cleveland signed the Interstate Commerce

Act, which required railroads to set prices proportional to distance traveled to move freight– Also couldn’t give special rates to some customers

The Populists

• Many small political parties associated with Farmers’ Alliances began to see some success, especially in the South

• The People’s Party, or Populists, was formed in 1891• 4 main issues:– Increased circulation of money– Unlimited mining of silver– Progressive income tax, in which richer people are taxed at

a greater percentage– Government ownership of communication and

transportation systems

The Populists

• The Populists also endorsed an eight-hour work day, seeking the support of urban industrial workers

• Also sought a united front of African American and white farmers– Often endorsed the same candidates as the Republicans

for this reason• Could not win the presidency

Bryan’s “Cross of Gold”• Many issues culminated in the 1896 presidential

election between gold bug William McKinley (R) and silverite William Jennings Bryan (D/Populist)

• Bryan famously addressed the Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech, in which he made an impassioned plea for free silver

Results: PV: McKinley 51%, Bryan 47% EV: McKinley 271, Bryan 176

Populism’s Legacy

• McKinley’s administration raised tariffs• Congress returns to gold standard after new

discoveries in South Africa, Alaska, and Canada– But prices rose for farmers

• Populist and silverite movements die out– Their issues are no longer relevant

• The goals of populism remained intact, as we will see later in the Progressive Era.