Populism

Unrest in Rural America

• Populism

• Farm prices fell in years following the civil war

• High tariffs made it hard for farmers to sell their goods overseas

• They were exploited by…– Banks– Shipping companies

The Money Supply

• A rapid increase in greenbacks caused inflation

• As money lost value, prices went up

• Greatly hurt the economy

The Money Supply

• Resolution:– Stopped printing greenbacks– Stopped making silver into their coins– began paying off their bonds

• The economy recovered, and the value of money increased (deflation)– Prices fall

Deflation Hurts Farmers

• Falling Prices meant farmers must sell their crops for less– They still had to pay the same mortgage to banks

The Grange Takes Action

• The Grange– Nation’s first national farm organization

• They pooled their resources together, creating a cooperatives

Cooperatives

• Hold their products off the market in order to force up prices

• Since co-ops controlled a large quantity of product, they could better negotiate shipping rates

The Grange Falls

• Most cooperatives were too small to make an impact

• European railroads and businesses refused to negotiate with them– Saying they resemble unions

The Farmer’s Alliance

• Another group who sought to achieve the same thing as the Grange

• Had more of an impact because it had more members– Formed large cooperatives (Exchanges)

• Still not very successful

The People’s Party

• Was first formed in Kansas by the Farmer’s Alliance

• seeking to gain power and push for political reform

• Better known as the Populists

The Rise of Populism

• They pushed for:– coinage of silver, – end of protective tariffs, – tighter regulation of RRs– Direct election of senators by voters

The Rise of Populism

• The main goal was to protect the public from greedy private investors

• Gained a big following– In 1890, 8 populists were elected to the House

and 2 to the Senate

South Turns to Populism

• This is because many Democrats who promised to support the Alliance, failed to keep those promises

The Panic of 1893

• After the election of 1892, the US went into a depression

The Panic of 1893

• American and European Investors began cashing in the their bonds for gold– Quickly drained gold reserves

The Panic of 1893

• The panic brought about 2 factions in the US

– Goldbugs

– Silverites

The Election of 1896

• The populists had hoped to steal pro-silver, Democratic, votes if the Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland

• They instead nominated William Jennings Bryan (a pro-silver Democrat)

– The populists were forced to support him, otherwise split the pro-silver votes

Bryan’s Campaign

• Won Southern and Western support through relentless campaigning.

• Republicans knew that they needed someone who could sweep the Midwest and Northeast– William McKinley was their choice

The Front Porch Campaign

• McKinley conducted his campaign from home by meeting with various delegates that came to visit him

• His Republican party launched a campaign that focused on highly populated areas.

The Front Porch Campaign

• Gained support of common laborers by promising a “full dinner pail”

• Had large donations from big business leaders– They supported his plan to not use silver coins

• McKinley won decisively

Populism Declines

• In 1896 and 1898, prospectors found gold in Canada and Alaska

• This, combined with gold strikes in South Africa, increased the money supply without ever turning to silver.

Populism Declines

• In 1900, the US adopted the Gold Standard Act– put the US currency on gold standard

– As the silver crusade died out , Populists lost their momentum