Populist Party Dbq Essay

There was a social change in which women also fought for suffrage. The populists were pretty much the victims of economic distress and their arguments were founded on the basis of progressive movements. One of the populist failure was that they lost the national election when the farmers united to insist on economic reform.

The Populist Party was the people’s party, hence the name Populist, the party was created in the late 1800s when the Southern Famer alliance contacted Powderly, the head of The Knights of Labor. The party’s first platform was called the Omaha Platform which called for the abolition of the national bank, graduated income tax, direct election of senators, civil service reform, an eight hour work week, and the gov’t control of railroads, telegraphs and telephones. The Populists supported the Prohibition

Farmers united to protect their interests, even creating a major political party. The party was called the peoples party which became known as the populist party. Populists drew its strength from rural areas. Populists tended to be poor and uneducated. They had ideas such as government ownership of major industries. The Populists supported labors demand for an eight

This illustrates that the Senate is controlled by big business, and how easily wealthy people had power over the government. Moreover, the railroad presidents were seen as kings, they could delay lawsuits, control the government and the people, corrupt communities, and control the press (DOC B). Important railroad companies dictated government policies because the legal system favored railroad interests. Further, trying to better the political system, the Populist Party made themselves known. Their platform demanded that the government be restored to the hands of the “plain people.” They wanted to end oppression, injustice, and poverty (DOC F). Evidently, they were dedicated to political and social reform, and urged that the government be strengthened and take responsibility of the people.

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 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

Populism was a major thing in the 19th century. The populist was formed by farmers who believed that the government was treating them bad. Populism is usually most common in Democracy nations. In this Presidential election Bernie and Trump were seen being using the idea of populism. Both candidates both seemed to be anti-establishing platforms. Both candidates seemed to want to criticize free trade deals as the North American free Trade Agreement

Why did farmers express discontent during 1870-1900 and what impact did their attitudes and actions have on national politics. Manufacturing hit a huge growth rate during this period which cause agriculture to decline, and cause farmers to struggle to make a living. The farmers were now being abused by the railroad companies and banks. The documents in DBQ 8 show rationality for the farmer’s protests, exclusively on bank mortgage tariffs and the gold standard. Two particular groups became popular during this period and that would be the Grangers and the Populist Party. Farmers fought against the Gold Standard, railroads, and industrialist during this period causing lots of confrontation.

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

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

The party adopted a platform calling for the free coinage of silver along with the abolition of national banks. Another aspect of the Populist Party, is a graduated income tax, government ownership of all forms of transportation and communication, and the election of Senators by direct vote of the people. Civil service reform, a working day of eight hours, postal banks, pensions, and the reform of immigration regulations are just some of the other views and beliefs of populists.

The issues that led to the rise of the Populist party were the problems affecting the farmers of the Great plains and the South. The farmers were going through a depression in the 1880s where the crop prices were falling and their debt was rising (Goldfield, 463). The farmers stared to form third-parties in the West, and eventually in the South after the southern farmers tried to take control of

To better understand where the populist movement, and the People's Populist Party came from you must first track back from the official formation of the party in 1892, to the real beginning, the Omaha Platform, which was drafted as a result of the crusade by the Farmer's Alliance in the late 1880s ( The Omaha Platform). The Farmer's Alliance took the place of The Grange after its decline in the late 1870s (Nash 430). Both of these organizations were created to fight for the "immense helpless mob" (429) of farmers in the post Civil War period. Both black and white farmers were beginning realize that the only way for them to improve their own lives was through banding together and taking collective action. Specifically, those included in this

The populist movement started out as the Farmers Alliance in the 1870s, and began moving throughout the south and west mostly in rural areas such as farms. They pursued many reforms in that times society such as education funding, infrastructure, workplace reform and support of agriculture. One person who was a big part of the populist movement was William Jennings Brian, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1896. He sought to change the worth of