Populism

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Populism the Election of 1896
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Where were the major farming regions of
the United States?
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(No Transcript)
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What were some of the major problems
facing farmers during the Gilded Age ??
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• Mother Nature droughts, floods, grasshoppers,
  boll weevil
• High Taxes
• Tariffs did not protect farmers from foreign
  competition
• One-Crop economy
• Deflation not enough dollars to go around
  causes lower prices
• Railroad Corp. controlled trans. of crops and
  the rates
• Debt from purchasing new equipment
• disorganized

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Price Indexes for Consumer Farm Products
1865-1913
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Keeping up with the Competition

• Farmers had to purchase new equipment to
  increase production in order to compete

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Faced disadvantages in the shipping of farm goods

• Shipping prices were high and storage prices were
  high.
• Local monopolies controlled the grain storage
  elevators and the railroads.
• Frank Norris The Octopus The Octopus was the
  railroad companies that wrapped its tentacles
  around and smothered those that relied on it.

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Populism An Agrarian Revolt That Reaches Out
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Founder of the National Grange of the Patrons of
Husbandry (1867)
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The Grange Movement The Rural Modernizes

• First organized in the 1870s in the Midwest, the
  south, and Texas.
• Set up cooperative associations.
• Social and educational components.
• Succeeded in lobbying for Granger Laws.
• Rapidly declined by the late 1870s.

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The Grange Preachesfor Change

• The grange set up posts where meetings were
  held that took on a religious revival atmosphere
  Used the power of Christian moralism to
  motivate critics of an unethical status quo
• Farms were isolated prisons of dismal life
  build associations to breakdown that lonely life

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Supreme Court Decisions

• Munn vs. Illinois (1877)
• Wabash, St. Louis, Pacific Railroad Company vs.
  Illinois (1886)

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The Farmers Alliances

• Begun in the late 1880s (Texas first ? the
  Southern Alliance then in the Midwest ? the
  Northern Alliance).
• Built upon the ashes of the Grange.
• More political and less social than the Grange.
• Racially integrated
• Ran candidates for office.
• Controlled 8 state legislatures had
  47representatives in Congress during the 1890s.

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United We Stand, Divided We Fall

• In 1889 both the Northern andSouthern
  Alliancesmerged into onethe Farmers Alliance.

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St. Louis Convention Unites the Victims of
Conspiratory Forces

• Central Credo of
• We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the
  verge of moral, political, and material ruin.
• Ignatius Donnelly

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Platform of Lunacy
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The Populist (Peoples) Party

• Founded by James B. Weaverand Tom Watson.
• Omaha, NE Convention in July,1892.
• Got almost 1 million popularvotes.
• Several Congressional seatswon.

James B. Weaver, Presidential Candidate James
G. Field, VP
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Women Find Place to breakdown Barriers

• Populists pushed for economic independence of
  women
• Mary Lease fiery eloquent lawyer/speaker Raise
  less corn, and more Hell!
• Women used Populist Party to push for suffrage in
  the states

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Omaha Platform of 1892

1. System of sub-treasuries. (provided farmers
   with loans and warehouse to store goods until
   prices were better)
2. Govt. ownership (Nationalizing) of RRs, telephone
   telegraph companies.
3. Re-monitization of silver.
4. Direct Election of Senators
5. Graduated Income tax

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Govt.-Owned Companies
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Bi-Metallism Issue
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1
Fixing the Crime of 73
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1892 Election
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The Panic of 1893
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Causes of the 1893 Panic

• Begun 10 days after Cleveland took office.
• Several major corps. went bankrupt.
• Over 16,000 businesses disappeared.
• Triggered a stock market crash.
• Over-extended investments.
• Bank failures followed causing a contractionof
  credit nearly 500 banks closed.
• By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million.
• Americans cried out for relief, but the
  Govt.continued its laissez faire policies!!

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Here Lies Prosperity
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Written by a Farmer at the End of the 19c
When the banker says he's broke And the
merchants up in smoke, They forget that it's
the farmer who feeds them all. It would
put them to the test If the farmer took a rest
Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds
them all.
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Coxeys Army, 1894

• Jacob Coxey his Army of the Commonweal of
  Christ.
• March on Washington ? hayseed socialists!

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Result of Election Returns

• Populist voteincreased by40 in the
  bi-election year,1894.
• Democratic party losses in the West
  werecatastrophic!
• But, Republicanswon control of the House.

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The 1896 Election
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Gold / Silver Bug Campaign Pins
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William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)
The Great Commoner
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William Jennings Bryan
Prairie avenger, mountain lion, Bryan,
Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Gigantic troubadour,
speaking like a siege gun, Smashing
Plymouth Rock with his boulders from the
West.

• Revivalist style of oratory.

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BryantsCross of Gold Speech
You shall not press down upon the brow of labor
this crown of thorns you shall not crucify
mankind upon a cross of gold!
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Bryan The Farmers Friend(The Mint Ratio)
18,000 miles of campaign whistle stops.
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The Populist and Silver Convention Will Be
Friendly to Bryan.
Democratic Party Taken Over by the Agrarian Left
Platform ? tariff reductions income tax
strictercontrol of the trusts (esp. RRs) free
silver.
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William McKinley (1843-1901)
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Mark Hanna The Front-Porch Campaign
Pres. of Republican National Committee Campaign
Manager Raised 16 million Trickle Down
Theory Belly Vote
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The Seasoned Politician vs. The Young Newcomer
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Into Which Box Will the Voterof 96 Place His
Ballot?
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1896 Election Results
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Why Did Bryan Loose?

• His focus on silver underminedefforts to build
  bridges to urbanvoters. (consumers did not want
  inflationary policies)
• He did not form alliances withother groups.
• McKinleys campaign was well-organized and
  highly funded.

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Gold Triumphs Over Silver

• 1900 ? GoldStandard Act
• confirmed thenations commitment tothe gold
  standard.
• A victory for the forces ofconservatism.

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The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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1964 Henry Littlefields Thesis?
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What Are the Metaphors?

• Dorothy ? ?
• Kansas ? ?
• Wicked Witch of theEast ? ?
• Tin Woodsman ? ?
• Scarecrow ? ?
• Cowardly Lion ? ?
• Yellow Brick Road ? ?

• Silver Slippers ? ?
• Emerald City ? ?
• Oz ? ?
• The Wizard ? ?
• Munchkins ? ?
• Wicked Witch of the West ? ?
• Flying Monkeys ? ?

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Legacy

• Federal Income Tax 15th Amendment
• Direct Election of Senators 16th Amendment
• Hepburn Act 1906 More Federal control of the
  railroads and strengthens ICC
• Flexible Currency no gold standard after
  Depression
• Progressive push for Initiative, Referendum, and
  Recall