Analyze Similarities And Differences Between The Populist Party And Progressive Reformers

First of all there were social failures and successes between the populist and the progressive. During the progressive era, many lawmakers from state and general level made laws to protect citizens at home and those who are at work. Reforms were made saying that women and children

The onset 20th Century holds two main movements: The Populists and The Progressives. These two parties are similar, but their policies and philosophies hold diversities. The Populists party comprises of farmers and poor whites in the south; they focus on eastern interests i.e. railroads and banks. The Populists also call for government action, to intervene and to create an efficient society which includes a flourishing middle class. The Progressives include educated middle class men and men of universities, they too demanded for reform, but accomplish their goals through legislation and the judicial system. The Progressives focused on reform as well as destroying the Robber Barons. Some Progressives were actually a part of the Populist Party; they weren’t contradictory parties. To simplify the matter The Populist party held picnics in order to present discussions, while the Progressives hold educated and sophisticated men of great esteem who were much more formal.

The Populist and Progressives had many similarities. What the Populist fought for the Progressives continued on fighting. They fought for many similar things for example, they fought for the eight hour work day. The Populist and Progressives were for the people. They wanted to improve their

The period between 1870 and 1900 was a time to change politics. The country was for once free from war and was united as one nation. However, as these decades passed by, the American farmer found it harder to live comfortably. Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the cash crop of agriculture, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit. Improvements in transportation allowed larger competitors to sell more easily and more cheaply, making it harder for American yeoman farmers to sell their crops. Finally, years of drought in the Midwest and the fall of business in the 1890s devastated the farming community. Most notably, the Populist Party arose to fight what farmers saw as the issues affecting

Throughout the 1880s and 1890s America was going through many changes and many of these were fought by the Populists. Silver being demonetized was another major problem for the Populists and they fought it along with asking for a national government regulated currency as well. The Populist Party also fought against the harsh taxes that were in place at the time in the United States. The biggest concern for many of the Populists was how to handle crop failures and how prices were to be controlled. All in all, the Populist movement was centered on helping out the farmers and improving the ever changing economy.

The progressives where middle class people that where mostly composed of young people who wanted things to change, they believed that educating people was the best way to overcome a problem. They formed volunteer organizations that people would come

The Populist Movement ultimately failed to survive because of their desire for inflation and the support for the coinage of silver, as well as the fact that they merged with the Democratic Party to combat the Republicans. The 1896 election undermined agrarian insurgency, and a period of rapidly rising farm prices helped to bring about the dissolution of the Populist Party. Another important factor in the failure of the party was its inability to affect a genuine urban-rural coalition; its program had little appeal for wage earners of the industrial east. Although the populists were not outright socialists, many conservative interests saw the Populists as a threat to the basic economic system of the United States. The Populists’ agenda was

The Big Question: How did farmers, activists, workers and politicians face the problems of industrial America during the Populist and Progressive Eras?

The Populist movement arose with a sense for farmers of where they belonged. Many farmers believed that they were not getting enough credit for what they do for society. Doctors take care of America’s health and bankers take care of America’s money. Farmers began to advocate the fact that they feed all of America (Document A). This evolved into a platform for the newly formed Populist Party. Moreover, racism seemed to arise in a whole new manner. It was essentially holding America back both economically and politically. America, by the farmers’ point of view, needed to focus on the economic problems that the whole country was facing (Document B). Due to this “everyone needs to work together” attitude, farmers created the National Colored Farmers Alliance. Farmers began to reform society to show their role in society.

Due to “…falling agricultural prices and growing economic dependency” (Foner 636) in the mid-nineteenth century, farmers in the South began to face inevitable economic uncertainty. Farmers, both white and black alike, were thrown into poverty due to sharecropping and the fall of the price of cotton, and many faced the fear of losing everything they had due the inability to pay bank loans. Believing that their situation was caused by “…high freight rates…excessive interest rates for loans…and the fiscal policies of the government” (Foner 636), disgruntled farmers hoped to better their lives and conditions through the founding of the Farmers’ Alliance in the 1870s. However, by the 1890s, the Alliance transformed into what became known as the Populist Party. Keeping their roots in mind, the Populists sought to end what they considered political corruption and economic inequality that arose during the Reconstruction. In order to do so, they proposed “…the direct election of U.S. senators, government control of currency, a graduated income tax, a system of low-class public financing…the right of workers to form labor unions…[and a] public ownership of the railroads” (Foner 638). In addition to their propositions, the Populists were considered radical due to their embracement of science and technology, their belief that the

He argues that for the early part of the history of the United States the culture of the nation centered on the farmer and the agrarian myth. The agrarian myth is that the independent family farmer was what drove the nation. Hofstadter states that framers enjoyed a certain privileged status in society. He argues that by the late 1870s this image or status was in decline and that farmers began to resent this loss of status. He asserts that the Populist movement was born out of this resentment. He explains that this resentment towards city-dwellers—those whose opinion of farming was declining—was why many Populists described the city as crime infested and disliked immigrants. He viewed populists as being hysterical, raving, and very nativist. He says that the ideas expressed by the Populists made their way to the cities where professionals latched on to them. These professionals he argued felt the pinch from immigrants and crime. These professionals became the members of the Progressive movement. He viewed progressives as more practical, less hysterical, and more patronizing. To Hofstadter the Populist and Progressive movements were borne out of a status revolution in the United States.

     Progressives are activists in a political reform movement known as progressivism, which is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th cent. In the decades following the Civil War, rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed, agriculture was mechanized, the factory system spread, and cities grew rapidly in size and number all because of this newfound movement. The progressive movement arose as a response to the vast changes brought by industrialization. Progressives were often frustrated, however, because state legislatures, controlled by railroads and large corporations, obstructed the municipal struggle for their rule. Throughout all of the reform movements, progressives began to play a major role in politics and the creation of a new political party known as the

Populism and Progressivism were responses to a growing industrial economy that resulted in disparities between rich and poor and increasing social and political conflict. The solutions of the Populists and Progressives were varied, however established from the same central ideas. Despite the differences between each group, both contributed to a change in state and society and the fundamental role of government in the lives of the people in the West. Through Populist origin and Progressive action, the role of the government became a socially conscious, active body working to ensure the rights of Western citizens. Both the Populists and the Progressives sought to reform the conflicts and ills that had arisen from the growth of industrialization and the changing Western landscape following reconstruction. Populism had the most significant impact on the political evolution of the West as it gave way to Progressivism, which implemented many policies and benefits

The Populist Party was started by a massive grassroots movement that wanted political reform. The supporters of the Populist Party were usually laborers who were sick of the government supporting big businesses. Because of this support, there were many violent strikes, such as Pullman, Homestead, and Haymarket, where strikers were killed, and the government did nothing. Eventually, the Populist Party combined with the Democratic Party because the Populist Party was limited because of its regional location.

The Populists and Progressive were two major movements that occurred during the outbreaks of the workers union after the civil war. The populists began during the late 1800s and the progressives began during the 1900s. There are many differences between these two movements, but yet both of these movements have many things in common. During this time, farmers united to protect their interests by creating a major political party. This party was known as the Peoples Party, which became known as the Populist Party. Populists drew their strength from rural areas as many Populists tended to mostly be poor and uneducated. They had ideas such as government ownership of major industries. Progressives, also affected by industrialization, began their movements in order to reestablish their society.