Summary: On The Populist Party

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

Luddism, for example, was one of the ideologies that opposed the industrial changes that liberalism brought. The jobs of the skilled textile workers were lost and replaced by machines operated by unskilled laborers. The Luddites protested and even broke into factories, destroying many machinery. Chartism was another example of the response to the unrecognized individual rights. Chartism was a working- class movement with the main focus on political and social reform in society (Fielding, 2009, 132). The Chartists wanted a political and social reform in society because they could be granted the rights to participate in these aspects of society. Utopian Socialists were humanitarians who advocated an end to the appalling conditions of the average worker in the industrial capitalist countries (Fielding, 2009, 134). They believed that education and the improved working conditions could peacefully remove the worst aspects of capitalism and lead to an ideal socialist society where everyone would live happily. “It is therefore the interest of all, that everyone, from birth, should be well educated, physically and mentally, that society may be improved in its character; that everyone should be beneficially employed, physically, and mentally, that the greatest amount of wealth may be created and knowledge attained….” (Fielding, 2009, 135). Another essential resistance to liberalism was showcased by the ideology of classical conservatism. The beliefs of

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

While the Populists were able to inspire some more government involvement in the economy with their currency concerns, the Progressives both reformed the government into a less corruptible system and called for more government participation in reducing the growing power of certain industries. Similarly, although the Populists managed to bring attention to the plight of the workers, the Progressives, with their wider range of supporters due to their broader appeal, was able to pass workplace regulations and to organize institutes to help foreigners assimilate into American society. Finally, as the Populists failed to convince the nation to address most of their most basic beliefs and goals, the Progressives succeeded in obtaining government recognition of their side of a long-standing racial dissension. In conclusion, historians are correct in believing that the Populists were less successful than the Progressives in attaining their goals because of the vast differences between the two results of the groups’ reform

These events and conditions were the reason behind the foundation of the populist’s party and their platform. They declared “ that this republic can only endure as a free government while built upon the love of the whole people for each other and for the nation.”(Populist party platform, 1892) They believed that they would be able to correct the wrong and bring back the power of the government to the people, and put end to the poverty through the platform they issued. Through the platform, they provided solutions to both economical and political problems. To begin with, they called for creating unions to defend the producing class and the labor to protect them and giving them back their stolen rights. Also, they declared that “ wealth belongs to him creates it” and any other sources of income are counted as robbery. In addition, the populist’s party regarded the railroads as a public corporation not to be owned privately to prevent any monopoly or increase in the costs to protect these poor farmers from exploitation. They called for the a safe, flexible, national currency to be issued by the government as well as free coinage of silver and gold in a ratio of 16:1. Regarding the taxes they demanded it would not exceed the 2 percentile per year and it should be graduated according to the income, so the rich

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

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

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?

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 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 supported labor demands, such as people in the labor force only being allowed to work eight-hour workdays. The Populists tried to encourage more governmental control over the banking systems as well as governmental control over the operation of the nation's railroad and communication systems. One of the most controversial Populist demands was the money supply. Farmers saw inflation as a way to improve their way of living as the price level of their crops began to rise. The farmers also planned to expand the money supply at on point.

1. A permanent union of all working classes; wanted farmer and working to share the same bond.