the populist revolt
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The Populist Revolt. 1880-1896. Agrarian Anger. Causes of agrarian anger Between 1870 and 1900 the pop of the U.S. doubled to just over 76 million people - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Populist Revolt1880-1896
Agrarian Anger• Causes of agrarian anger• Between 1870 and 1900 the pop of the U.S.
doubled to just over 76 million people• New machines and fertilizers enabled farmers to increase the
number of acres under cultivation• As a result, farmers were able to dramatically expand
production and feed the nation’s soaring population• However, the law of supply and demand worked against the
farmers• The more wheat, corn, and cotton they produced the lower
prices fell • For example, the price of a bushel of wheat plummeted from
$1.19 in 1881 to just 49 cents in 1894• Cotton that sold for 15.1 cents a pound in 1870 commanded
only 5.8 cents a pound in 1894
Agrarian Anger• Causes of agrarian anger
• Farmers blamed the railroads for many of their problems• Railroads transported corn, wheat, and cattle
to cities and then shipped heavy machinery and supplies to the farms
• Most farmers were thus completely dependent upon the railroads
• Farmers bitterly complained that the railroads used their monopoly to charge unfair rates
• For example, the Burlington line charged its customers west of the Mississippi 4x what they charged customers east of the river
• Farmers had to borrow heavily to build houses and buy land and equipment
• Following the CW, America experienced a prolonged period of deflation which meant that both prices and the money supply were falling
• As a result, a farmer had to pay back loans with dollars that had doubled in value since he borrowed them
Agrarian Anger• The Granger movement
• Many farmers endured a lonely existence on widely separated farms
• Began as a social and educational organization in response to the farmers’ isolation
• Membership was 1.5 million people by 1874• Founded cooperatives through which they sold
their crops and bought supplies as a group• They even tried to manufacture farm machinery• Began to fight the railroads and several states
passed “Granger laws” regulating railroad freight rates
• Success was short-lived• Many of the cooperatives failed because of mismanagement• Meanwhile, the railroad successfully challenged the state regulations in
federal courts• By 1890, the SC ruled that states could not regulate railroads engaged
in interstate commerce• These setbacks led to the decline of the Grange after 1876
Agrarian Anger• The Farmers’ Alliance• The farmers still had much to complain about• As the Grange lost members, a new organization known as the
Farmers’ Alliance grew in size and importance• Founded in Texas in the mid-1870s, the National Farmers’ Alliance
quickly spread through the S and Plains’ states• By 1891, the Alliance movement boasted over 1.5 million members• A separate Alliance for black farmers had another quarter-million
members• The Alliance movement sponsored an ambitious program of
economic and political reform• As a “grand army of reform” it welcomed women members• Many women embraced this opportunity and assumed key
leadership roles
The Populist Party• The birth of the Populist Party
• America’s increasingly militant farmers believed that they had good reasons to organize a 3rd party
• Farmers saw themselves as victims of an unjust system that penalized them with low crop prices and predatory railroad rates while rewarding Wall Street financiers with extravagant profits
• Populist leader Mary E. Lease captured the farmers’ militant mood when she advised them “to raise less corn and more hell”
• The wave of agrarian discontent gave birth to the People’s or Populist Party• In July 1892, 1,300 exhilarated delegates
met in Omaha, NE to formulate a platform and nominate a candidate for the fall presidential election
The Populist Party• The Birth of the Populist Party• The Populist platform emphatically demanded
government control of the railroads• It also called for the free and unlimited
coinage of silver• Believed that free silver would increase the
money supply and therefore spur inflation• Called for an 8-hr workday, a graduated
income tax, and the direct election of senators by voters instead of state legislatures
• The Populists nominated former congressman and Union general James B. Weaver of Iowa to run for president• Received just over one million votes, more than
any previous 3rd-party candidate• In addition, the Populists elected 10
congressmen, 5 senators, and almost 1500 members of state legislature
• Buoyed by their success, the Populists eagerly looked forward to the 1896 presidential election
The Populist Party• The Depression of 1893• Grover Cleveland began his second term
as President on March 4, 1893• Just 2 months later a panic on Wall Street
touched off a severe economic depression• A worried advisor warned Cleveland, “We
are on the eve of a very dark night”• His gloomy prediction proved to be
accurate• In 1893 over 15,000 businesses and 600
banks closed• By the following year, 1/5 of the nation’s
workers had lost their jobs
The Populist Party• The Depression of 1893• An Ohio Populist named James S. Coxey urged the
fed gov’t to launch a $500 million road-building program to provide unemployed workers with desperately needed jobs• When Congress ignored his proposal, Coxey led a
ragtag army of unemployed workers on a protest march to Washington• When “Coxey’s army” finally reached the U.S.
Capitol armed police arrested Coxey for walking on the lawn• He was fined $5.00 and sentenced to 20 days in
jail• It is interesting to note that Coxey died in 1951
having lived long enough to see his ideas for public works projects enacted during the New Deal
The Populist Party• The Populists and free silver• Unemployed workers and debt-ridden farmers called for
an immediate solution to end the depression• Populist leaders believed that the depression underscored the
urgent need for the free coinage of silver• The Populists believed that there was a direct relationship
between the amount of money in circulation and the level of economic activity• Strict adherence to the gold standard reduced the supply of
money in circulation and thus limited economic activity• This policy benefited bankers and creditors while punishing
debtors• The free and unlimited coinage of silver would bring back
prosperity by putting more money in circulation and thus increasing business activity
The Populist Party• The Populists and Free Silver• One Populist summed up the case for free silver by
explaining that, “It means the reopening of closed factories, the relighting of fires in darkened furnaces; it means hope instead of despair; comfort in place of suffering; life instead of death”• Populist leaders believed that free silver offered a
compelling solution to the depression• With the 1896 election fast approaching, Populists
prepared for a climatic battle with the Reps and Dems that many believed would determine the nation’s future for generations to come
The Election of 1896• The candidates
• The Reps correctly sensed that the depression weakened Cleveland and the Dems
• They nominated William McKinley• The Rep platform supported tariffs and forthrightly
state that “the existing gold standard must be maintained”
• Pro-silver delegates controlled the Dem convention in Chicago• The Silverites promptly repudiated Cleveland and wrote a platform
demanding the free coinage of silver• The Dems now had an issue but still lacked a candidate• That changed when William Jennings Bryan, a 36 year-old former
congressman from NE, addressed the convention• Bryan thundered defiance as he reached his free silver conclusion:
“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!”
• Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech electrified the cheering delegates• The next day euphoric delegates wearing silver badges and waving
silver banners nominated Bryan for President
The Election of 1896• The candidates• The Dem’s decision to nominate a pro-silver candidate
presented the Populists with a difficult choice• Nominating their own candidate would divide the silver
vote and ensure McKinley’s election • Endorsing Bryan would mean giving up their identity as a
separate party• After much debate, the Populists chose to support Bryan
“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!”
The Election of 1896• The campaign
• Bryan ignored tradition and launched a whirlwind campaign that crisscrossed the country
• The “Boy Orator” conveyed boundless energy and an almost evangelical enthusiasm as he delivered over 600 speeches praising the benefits of free silver
• While Bryan campaigned across the country, McKinley stayed at home in Canton, Ohio and ran a “front porch” campaign skillfully managed by his close friend Mark Hanna • Friendly railroads provided reduced fares enabling over 750,000
people to visit Canton and hear McKinley earnestly promise “good work, good wages, and good money”
• Hanna’s strategy cleverly allowed McKinley to maintain an image of decorum and dignity
• The president of a New England woman’s club approvingly noted, “He does not talk wildly, and his appearance is that of a President”
The Election of 1896• The results• McKinley’s well-financed
campaign overwhelmed Bryan• McKinley won the popular vote
by 7.1 million to 6.5 million and the electoral vote by 271 to 176• The S and much of the thinly
populated W supported Bryan• McKinley captured all of the NE
and the upper MW, including the crucial swing states of OH and IL
The Election of 1896• The results• As expected, industrialists and the middle class solidly endorsed
McKinley• However, McKinley surprised Bryan by also winning a majority
of votes from urban workers• Despite the pro-labor planks in their platform, the Dems were
unable to build a rural-urban coalition• Bryan’s obsession with the silver issue diverted attention from
labor’s traditional focus on wages, hours, and working conditions
• Many labor leaders feared that free silver would inflate the value of the dollar and thus shrink the real value of their wages
• Industrial workers also approved the Rep support for high tariffs• They believed tariffs would protect American industries and
thus save working-class jobs
The Election of 1896• The consequences• The election of 1896 led to the swift collapse of the Populist Party• The silver issue melted away as gold strikes in South Africa, the
Yukon, and Alaska enlarged the money supply and reversed the deflationary spiral• In addition, crop failures in Europe led to an increase in U.S. grain
exports• As commodity prices rose, farmers entered a period of renewed
prosperity that lasted until the end of WWI• The return of prosperity did not end the spirit of reform• A new generation of Progressive reformers successfully fought for
many of the Populist reforms• The election of 1896 began a generation of almost unbroken Rep
dominance that lasted until the election of Franklin Roosevelt in 1932
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
1964: Henry Littlefield’s “Thesis?”
Tornado ? Dorothy ? Toto ? Kansas ? Wicked Witch of the
East ? Tin Woodsman ? Scarecrow ? Cowardly Lion ? Yellow Brick Road
?
Silver Slippers ? Emerald City ? Oz ? The Wizard ? Munchkins ? Wicked Witch of the
West ? Flying Monkeys ?
“Parable of the Populists?”