The Influence of the Populist Platform on America

The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing

After the civil war, businesses began to become big, they grew significantly in size, number and mostly in influence. Different corporations and businesses grew so much that they had a big effect and so much power and control in America. the businesses began to influence the people of america, the politics and the economy in america. As these companies and businesses grew, some became really powerful which was a good and bad thing. In post-Civil War United States, big businesses and corporations grew with both positive and negative impacts on politics, the economy and the responses of Americans.

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.

In the time just before the Civil War, the United States was one of the most successful nations in the world. The United States had become the world’s leading cotton producing country and had developed industry, which would in the future, surpass that of Great Britain. Also, the United States possessed an advanced railroad and transportation system. However, despite its successes, the United States was becoming increasingly divided. The North and the South had many distinct differences in terms of their social, cultural, and economic characteristics that brought about sectionalism and, eventually, the Civil War.

The Civil war was the most momentous and crucial period of time in the history of America. Not only did this war bring an end to slavery but also paved way for numerous social and political changes. The country had already been torn by the negative trend in race relations and the numerous cases of slave uprisings were taking their toll on the country 's political and social structure. The country was predominately divided up into 3 sections, the North, the South, and the West. Each of these groups had different fundamental interests. The North wanted economies depending on farming, factories and milltowns, while the West relied on expansion and development of land for farming and new towns. The South mainly relied on agriculture like

The end of the Civil War brought a whole new era of economy, political control, and Presidential intervention. The economy emerged from its agriculturally based economy into a flourishing big business dominated world and eventually in 1929 came crashing down. I agree only partially with the quote " The Civil War saw the beginning of an 80-year decline of real individual economic opportunity; nonetheless, the vast majority of Americans continued to profess their belief in individualism as evidenced by the Presidents they elected. Thus, between 1865 and 1939, the majority of Americans accepted big business dominance and rejected all forms of government interference and regulation contrary to

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 Program called for public ownership of railroads and telegrams, the party believed that the government should own and run the railroads in the best interest of the people because if they did not it was either “the people own the railroads or the railroads own the people.” They also called for protection from land monopolies, They believed that land, should not be monopolized for speculative purposes, and alien ownership of land should be prohibited. They state that all lands owned by aliens should be reclaimed by the government and held for actual settlers only. Also, they want income tax on the rich, which would lower the level of the McKinley tariff, while making the wealthy pay more income tax than the poor, and would decrease

After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.

Discontented farmers, despite their passion, lacked the numbers to make a national impact. They accomplished many of their goals, though most were not recognized as populist achievements. Ultimately, class played a primary role in the apparent failure of the populists in comparison to the success of the progressives. Despite the brevity of its existence, the Populist movement exercised a profound influence on subsequent U.S. political life. Almost all the Populist demands, which at one time were widely viewed as radical and contradictory to America’s free enterprise system, were eventually enacted into law.

Farmers formed the populist movement as a result of their frustration; their difficulties and cried for help was ignored, they were suffering with no sight of help at the end of the tunnel. Almost two decades of drought affecting their crops, price falling, high interest rates, high railroad tax and lack of credit from; no response from the two major political parties . Their fight for wealthy business to bear the taxation burden fall on deaf tears. The Industrial Union and the Farmer’s Alliances that

In the northern states of the united states, pre-Civil War, they had been booming with new factories. Industrialization had taken over the northern states, becoming their entire economy. After the Civil War though, the industrialization economy really took a hit. Roughly 360,000 Union deaths took place during the Civil war, many companies lost many employees. Shortly after the Civil War the United States entered an era we now know at the “Gilded Era”. During this era, some of the richest men, even in todays money, were born. Big names like Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan entered the economy, trying to earn their way to the top.

economy of America, and the role that it conveyed in the conflicts leading up to the Civil War.

Congress passed a law to stop silver, silver were becoming too expensive, gold is the standard to determine currency. Money supply shrink and money were less valuable. Even harder for American farmer to pay back debt. Farmer began to becomes more connection (nation movement), merged with each other; start to become more political. Encourage member to vote for candidate who show their interests. Farmer alliance becomes the people party in 1892. (Populist Party) Demand they made includes:

The decades after the Civil War rapidly changed the face of the United States. The rapid industrialization of the nation changed us from generally agrarian to the top industrial power in the world. Business tycoons thrived during this time, forging great business empires with the use of trusts and pools. Farmers moved to the cities and into the factories, living off wages and changing the face of the workforce. This rapid industrialization created wide gaps in society, and the government, which had originally taken a hands off approach to business, was forced to step in.