Populist Movement Vs Progressive Movement Essay

The Populist movement was a rising third party of angry farmers and factory workers. The idea behind this movement was to take the power away from bankers and business leaders. Baum was a supporter of William Jennings Bryan, presidential candidate for Democratic Party. Bryan supported the laboring class of the economy, his main concern was “adding silver to the nation’s gold standard” (49). They wanted money to be silver based since silver was available in the Mid-West and in doing so; the banks would no longer be able to manipulate the money supply. The goal of the participants of the party such as Baum was to break the power of the concentrated corporates. During the same time in 1890’s a severe depressions caused businesses to go bankrupt, farmers to sell their lands and factories were being shut down leaving workers unemployed. The Populist Party believed that switching to silver would pump money in the economy and would at least keep the businesses going.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century the progressive movement and populist movement were groups and organizations getting together to resolve social, economic, and political problems occurring in the United States. Both movements had different approaches to what was more important and how to deal with problems. Progressivism was mainly for the betterment of cities while populism is for agrarian section of farmers.

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

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 very famous Theodore Roosevelt once said, “A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy.” From 1900 to 1918 the progressive era took America by storm. This era progresses reform and try to change the social activist way of thinking. We see how this era main goal was to eliminate corruption to make society whole. However, the first closest related factors-industrial, imperialism, and nationalism were being combined for a change in American history. People party was being formed, Wealth became a major issue, and equality was trying to be achieved. These major choices from the progressive era affected the Second Industrial Revolution in more ways than one.

The Populist party, as previously stated, stood for and supported the working class. From farmers in the west to industrial workers in the east, the Populist party wanted

* Populism – This was a popular movement with farmers. Especially among poor farmers that lived in the South.

1. What economic issues gave rise to the Populist Party, and what political and economic changes did the party advocate? Why were they considered so radical?

In the beginning of the twentieth century, the economy was booming, new technology flourished. The rapid industrialization brought achievement to the United States, however, it also caused several social problems. Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of a few, and poverty and political corruption were widespread. As people became aware of these problems, a new reform group was created. Unlike populism, which had been a group of farmers grown desperate as the economy submerged into depression, the new reform movement arose from the educated middle class. These people were known as the progressives. The Progressive Movement was a movement that aimed at solving political, economic, and social problems. The Progressives were people

American reform movements in the early to mid 1800’s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women’s rights. These movements were the result of our nation’s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in.

The Populist Movement, also known as the Forming the People’s Party, are all about the “We” in America. They are a group of people who formed because of the agriculture economy and didn’t put too much emphasis on race. They wanted more room for their crop (land wise), better pay, and even supported fair work-days for industrial workers. The Populist Movement was big in its time and made a lot of changes. What really made Populism grow was the depression that hit in 1893. William Jennings Bryan knew this and exploit what they wanted to get ahead in the presidential race.

Populism was started in the late 19th century by agrarian people of the South. Those with farming background believed the government was favoring banks and industry, so they formed this reform movement It was mostly supported by the poor sections of the rural South. On the other hand, Progressivism arose in the beginning of the 20th century. It was supported by the middle class, who were angry with the corruption of the rich and the appeasement of the poor by the government. The two reform movements were created by two different types of people, and also had different goals.

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.

One of the sparks in the blaze called the Progressive Movement was the shadow cast upon the working class by big business and corrupt politics (The Gilded Age). The big business interacted with and basically controlled politics (mainly because of monetary control). John Powell said in his article, “Unraveling the Progressive Movement”, “Men such as

Social movements have been a fundamental part of civilization’s freedom. It is the bridge that takes social grievances to the polity. Without this connection, people would not be able to express their concerns freely. A social movement is much more than just spontaneous uprisings with no organization; they are a complex organization that require detailed analysis to understand where they come from. In this sense, I would be devoting my time to analyze the different factors that cause the rise and development of social movements. I will consider a social movement “as organized yet informal social entities that are engaged in extra-institutional conflict that is oriented towards a goal. These goals can be either aimed at a specific and narrow policy or be more broadly aimed at cultural change” (Christiansen, 1, 2009). Consequently, it would be naïve to propose any explanation that relies solely on a single factor as the reason for the emergence of a social movement. Any meaningful analysis here has to happen through the understanding of multiple factors (both endogenous and exogenous), as well as their interaction, which collectively culminate in any given type of social movement. More importantly, it is key to understand that every social movement is the product of the previously mentioned