The Populist Party In The Late 19th Century

The Populist Party was a short-lived political party in the United States in the late 19th century. It flourished particularly among western farmers, based largely on its opposition to the gold standard. Although the party did not remain a lasting feature of the political landscape, many of its positions have become adopted over the course of the following decades. The very term "populist" has since become a generic term in U.S. politics for politics which appeals to the common person in opposition to established interests. Initially, the Populist government failed to achieve its goals of better government, however in the coming years, some of their ideas were to be developed. The Populist Party grew out of the agrarian revolt that rose after the collapse of agriculture prices following the Panic of 1873. The Farmers' Alliance, formed in Lampasas, Texas in 1876, promoted collective economic action by farmers and achieved widespread popularity in the South and Great Plains. The Farmers' Alliance was ultimately unable to achieve its wider economic goal of collective economic action against brokers, railroads, and merchants, and many in the
movement agitated for changes in national policy. By the late 1880s, the Alliance had developed a political agenda that called for regulation and reform in national politics, most notably an opposition to the gold standard to counter the deflation in agricultural prices. The drive to create a new political party out of the movement arose from the refusal of both Democrats and Republicans to take up and promote the policies advocated by the Alliance, notably in regard to the Populists' call for unlimited coinage of silver. The promotion of silver as legal tender was especially favored by farmers as a means of countering the deflation of agricultural prices and allowing credit to flow more easily through the rural banking system. The Populist Party was formed by members of the Alliance, in conjunction with the Knights of Labor, in 1889–1890. The movement reached its peak in 1892 when the party held a convention in Omaha, Nebraska and nominated candidates for the national election.
The party's platform called for the abolition of national banks, a graduated income tax, direct election of Senators, civil service reform, and a working day of eight hours. In the 1892 Presidential election, James B. Weaver received 1,027,329 votes. Weaver carried four states (Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, and Nevada) and received electoral votes from Oregon and North Dakota as well. The party flourished most among farmers in the Southwest and Great Plains. Opposition to the gold standard was especially strong among western farmers, who viewed the inherent scarcity of gold (and its slow movement through the banking system) as an instrument of Eastern banking interests who could force mass bankruptcies among farmers in the west by instigating "credit crunches". Many western farmers rallied around the Populist banner in the belief that "easy money" not backed by a hard mineral standard would allow credit to flow more freely through rural regions. The Populists were also the first political party in the United States to actively include women in their affairs.
By 1896, the Democratic Party took up many of the Populist Party's causes at the national level, and the party began to fade from national prominence.
In that year's presidential election, the Populists nominated Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan; he backed the Populist opposition to the gold standard in his famous "Cross of Gold" speech. The Populists could not bring themselves to also nominate Bryan's wealthy running mate, Arthur Sewall, and nominated Thomas E. Watson for vice president instead. Bryan lost to William McKinley by a margin of 600,000 votes. In 1900, while many Populist voters supported Bryan again, the weakened party nominated a ticket of Wharton Barker and Ignatius Donnelly. Thomas E. Watson was the Populist nominee for president in 1904 and in 1908, after which the party effectively ceased to
exist.
The nation remained on the gold standard until 1973, a fact that some (but by no means all) economic historians blame for the banking crisis during the Great Depression. In addition, the Populist Party's call for the direct election of Senators was realized in 1913 with the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment. The party's call for civil service reform would become part of the Progressive Party platform. Though the Populist Party's political power was short-lived, they did enact and promote important political policies like term limits and the secret ballot. The Populists were also responsible for their support of the grassroot political powers of initiative, referendum and recall. Initiatives allow ordinary citizens to introduce legislation, usually by collecting a certain number of signatures. Referendums submit legislation to the voting public for approval, and recalls allow citizens to replace politicians before their term has expired. Many Populist ideas were adopted by the Democratic Party. Once the more established party adopted the Populist policies, the third party no longer had much political force.