L10&L11: Populism: A Response to Gilded Age Corruption

1. L10&L11: Populism: A Response to Gilded Age Corruption The Shifting Size and Scope of the National Government: Part One • Agenda • Objective: • To understand: • What the Populist Movement was. • Who it appealed to and why. • How Populism was a response to the Gilded Age. • Why Populism wasn’t successful. • Populism’s legacy on the shifting size and scope of the national government. • Schedule: • Lecture & Discussion • Homework: • Consult unit schedule for background reading • JT Dates: • Citations for Final Draft (Wed 2/13) • Final Draft with all required components due by 2:45 pm on Fri 2/15!

2. Guiding Questions • What was the Populist Movement? • Who did it appeal to and why? • How was it a response to the Gilded Age? • Why wasn’t it successful? • What was its legacy on shifting size and scope of the national government?

3. Story of Populism begins with Story of Agriculture after the Civil War….

4. Changes in Agriculture After the Civil War 1865-1900 Mechanization = big equipment & big loans InternationalExports = Increased dependency on middlemen and farmers Specialization = “All in” on one crop

5. Wheat Prices Begin to Drop…A Problem for Farmers • Why is a drop in wheat prices problematic for the American farmer?

6. The Plight of Farmers Price Indexes for Consumer & Farm Products: 1865-1913

7. To cope with Declining Income, Farmers Begin to Take On More Debt

8. Problems Facing Farmers 1865-1900 Drought HighTariff DebtandForeclosure

9. What are Farmer’s Complaints? What is Their World-View?

10. Who Do Farmers Blame for Their Economic Hardship?

11. Farmers Begin to Organize • Many farmers, subscribe to the agrarian myth • Try to form organizations with the goal of bringing back this lifestyle to America • See businesses “organized” in the form of trusts, workers organized in the form of unions, and decide that they too will organize. • Important to note: Farmers view themselves as indispensible, “we feed you all,” yet by the 1880s are only 3% of the working population.

12. Written By a Farmer in the 19th Century When the banker says he's broke And the merchant’s up in smoke, They forget that it's the farmer who feeds them all. It would put them to the test If the farmer took a rest; Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds them all.

13. Farmers Alliance Movement • Throughout the United States farmers were organizing together into small farmers’ clubs These groups were called alliances and they usually were based on region and race. • You might have the Northwest Farmers’ Alliance or the Colored Farmers National Alliance. • By 1880 farmer’s alliances had over 4 million members. • Became highly influential in state and local elections. • In 1890, farmers’ alliance members helped get 5 US senators, 6 governors, and 46 congressmen elected.

14. Populist Party 1892 • Encouraged by this electoral success, farmers again set their sights on a national coalition. • The three major farmers’ alliance held a convention in Omaha, Nebraska in 1892 and drew up a platform for a national political party, The Populist Party (The People’s Party).

15. What Did the Populists Believe? • Read the Populist Party Platform of 1892. • What were the Populists’ critiques of American Society? • What changes and policies did the advocate?

16. What’s Up With Silver? • In 1893 United States had a paper money currency, just like we have today. Those dollar bills had value or worth, because they were backed by gold. • To oversimplify, each dollar bill that was floating around the economy could in theory be cashed in exchange for its value in gold. • Farmers believed, however, that by linking money to the rare gold, rather than the more abundant silver, prices were being kept artificially high.

17. What’s Up With Silver? • Indebted farmers believed that the addition of an immense amount of silver money, not paper money, would inflate the currency leading to higher prices and easier debt payment.

18. What’s Up With Silver? • Crime of 1873 • Demonization of silver (government stopped coining silver) • Bland-Allison Act 1878 • Limited silver coinage to $2 to $4 million per month • Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1890 • US Treasury must purchase $4.5 million ounces of silver per month • Government deposited most silver in the Treasury rather than circulation

19. What’s Up With Silver • Belief among the Populists, is that the government’s decision to withhold silver is a prominent example of the way in which the government sets fiscal policies that benefit urban capitalists. • Prices of goods and loans are being kept artificially high simply because the government is refusing to release this silver into circulation. • Big Business is winning and the common man is losing.

20. Populist Party and the Election of 1892

21. Populists Gain Support: Panic of 1893 • Economic crisis • Several major corporations went bankrupt • Stock market crashes • 500 banks close, leading to a contraction of credit • By 1895, unemployment is 3 millions • U.S. Government does nothing to stop the economic collapse.

22. Populists Gain Support: Panic of 1893 • With the economic depression, different investors in US currency were cashing in their money for gold bars. • This threatened to completely wipe out the gold reserves the United States had. • If the US ran out of gold, the nation’s remaining currency would be rendered valueless. There would be nothing to back it up. • To prevent this from happening, the government asked J.P. Morgan and his bank for a loan of $65 million in gold. • Panic of 1893, begins to call into question the gold standard.

23. Bimetalism • There erupts a big debate among the American people as to whether the American currency should remain a paper currency backed by gold, or whether American should adopt a bimetallist system—the value of the dollar is backed in both gold and silver.

24. Election of 1896 • In 1896 there is another political election and the big issue is the bimetallism debate. • The Democrats reject Cleveland as their nominee even though he is the sitting president and put up a man named William Jennings Bryan.

25. William Jennings Bryan • 1860-1925 • Ran for President 3 times (1896, 1900, 1908) • Was the U.S. Secretary of State under Wilson from 1913 to 1915. • Was a devout Christian, silverite, supporter of popular democracy, a peace advocate, a prohibition, and an opponent of Darwinism. • He was one of the best known orators an lecturers of time. • Called “The Great Commoner.” • Represented the State of Tennessee in the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1920

26. Cross of Gold Speech • At the democratic convention Bryan made what is perhaps the most famous Democratic convention speech ever. • “If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world. Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” • Audio Rerecording: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/

27. Cross of Gold Speech • What is the significance of this speech?

28. Populists Put Up Bryan Too! • The populists are so impressed with Bryan and the fact that he is endorsing silver, that they also nominate Bryan for president. • The populists saw Bryan and his belief that money should be backed by silver as their ticket out of debt.

29. Election of 1896

30. Election of 1896 • Why did Bryan lose? • Some argue that the election of 1896 is the most significant election since Lincoln’s in 1864. What is the significance of this election?

31. Election of 1896: Significance

32. Significance of Populism? • Why wasn’t it successful? • What was its legacy on shifting size and scope of the national government?

33. What Do Agrarianism, Populism, and Bimetallism Have to Do with The Wizard of Oz?

34. What Are the Metaphors? • Dorothy  ? • Kansas  ? • Tin Woodsman  ? • Scarecrow  ? • Cowardly Lion  ? • Yellow Brick Road  ? • Silver Slippers  ? • Emerald City  ? • Oz  ? • The Wizard  ? • Munchkins  ? • Wicked Witch of the West  ?

35. Yellow Brick Road • Represents the gold standard: a road that looks hopeful, but leads nowhere • Oz represents “oz” or the abbreviation for ounce, the standard measure for gold.

36. Scarecrow • Represents the struggling farmer at the turn of the century. • In Baum’s version, the Scarecrow rules Emerald City after Oz is dethroned. • Baum is predicting that farmers would gain political power

37. Tin Man • Represents the urban industrial worker who was enslaved to heartless industries. • In the book, the Tin Man rules the west. Baum is predicting that industry would move west, shutting out farmers.

38. Cowardly Lion • Represented William Jennings Bryan • Described as having a loud roar but little else (recall Bryan lost to McKinley despite his powerful Cross of Gold Speech) • In having the Lion protect smaller beasts in a “small old forest,” Baum predicted that Bryan would return to Congress

39. The Wizard of Oz • Represents President McKinley • Baum viewed McKinley as not being as powerful or wise as the façade he put forth.

40. The Silver Slippers • In the book Dorothy’s slippers are silver • When Dorothy walks on the Yellow Brick road it represents gold and silver coming together to increase America’s money supply (bimetallism) • In the book, her silver slippers are lost, representing the sliver issue losing • FYI: In the movie Dorothy’s slippers are ruby to showcase Technicolor

41. The Munchkins • The “little people” in America whose power had been taken away by big business and industry • Baum saw these people as “slaves” to the eastern banking and industrial interests

42. The Wicked Witch of the West • Symbolizes large industrial corporations that Baum thought oppressed “the little guy”

43. Dorothy • Is thought to represent Americans, who Baum viewed as good-natured but naive

44. Toto • Represents the Prohibitionist Party who were pro-Populist • Toto is a play on the term “teetotaller”—people who did not drink alcohol

45. Emerald City • Thought to represent Washington, D.C. and the color of the dollar