Farmers and the Populist
Movement
Problems farmers faced in the late 1800s?
1) Deflation
•
Due to overproduction – prices plummeted
* Bad news for farmers because they received less money
for their crops - The price of wheat fell from $2.00 a
bushel in 1867 to $0.68 a bushel in 1887.
Problems farmers faced in the late 1800s?
2) Debt - Mortgage Crisis -
* Farmers mortgaged their farms so they could buy more land in
attempt to break even.
* Banks foreclose on farms who could not make loan payment.
3) Railroads - Railroad companies had a monopoly & were
charging high rates(price gouging) for transportation and
storage.
- Sometimes it cost as much
to ship a bushel of grain as
farmers received for it.
What was the response of farmers?
Farmers began to work together to support one another
Grange formed in 1867 (formally known as the Patrons of
Husbandry (Oliver Hudson Kelley)
* This organization and others like it provided farmers with way to
unite/voice their opinion and respond to social and political
problems.
The Grange
Passage of Granger Laws.
State laws in the Midwest, West & Southeast that set
maximum railroad rates in those states.
Railroad companies fought these laws in
court. They argued it was unconstitutional
for any government to regulate business enterprises.
In Munn v. Illinois (1877) the United States
Supreme Court ruled that granger laws
were in fact constitutional further
establishing the right of the government to regulate commerce.
“Gold Bugs”
• Bankers and Businessmen.
• Wanted to keep U.S. on the gold standard which
would keep the value of the dollar high.
• Loans would be repaid in stable money.
• This would lead to less money in circulation and
deflation (falling prices).
• Fewer people would have money and the wealth
of those that did (bankers and businessmen)
would increase.
“Silverites”
• Farmers and Laborers.
• Bimetallism – silver and gold coinage. This would
decrease the value of the dollar and prices for farm goods
would rise.
• Farmers profits would increase and they could pay back
loans with dollars that were actually equal in value to the
dollars they had originally borrowed before greenbacks
were taken out of circulation.
• Wealth would be more evenly distributed across all tiers of
society.
Populist Party
The Populist Party was born in 1892 (Movement of the
people) AKA = People’s Party
Demand reforms to lift the burden of debt from farmers
in the W and SE & industrial laborers in the Mid W and
NE (common people) and to give people a greater
voice in their government.
Populist Reforms - What did they want?
1. Increase in money supply = rise in prices (Inflation)
2. Graduated Income tax (Tax higher incomes at
higher rates)
3. Election of U.S. Senators by popular vote
4. Single term for President and Vice-President
5. 8 hour work day
6. Restrictions on immigration
7. Federal government regulation
of railroads
Why does Populism end? Election of 1896
**William Jennings Bryan (Democrat) - Considered the patron
saint of lost causes due to the fact that he let his beliefs, not
politics, guide his actions. Won the parties nomination for
president in 1896. Bryan’s stance on the gold coinage issue led
the Populist Party to nominate him as their candidate as well.
**William McKinley (Republican) –
Civil War Veteran. Supporter of the gold
standard. Popular in DC. Had millions to
fund his campaign.
Bryan lost the voters in the East,
industrial Mid-West and the growing
middle class to William McKinley.
The 2 legacies of Populism?
1) A message that the common man
could organize and have a political
impact.
2) An agenda of reforms – many would
be put into law in the 20th century.
Election of 1896