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Populism & the Election of 1896

Populism & the Election of 1896. What were some of the major problems facing farmers during the Gilded Age ??. Unhappy Farmers. Boll weevil infestation – early 1890s Grasshoppers ravaged prairie farms Floods eroded the topsoil away Expensive fertilizers had to be bought

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Populism & the Election of 1896

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  1. Populism & the Election of 1896

  2. What were some of the major problems facing farmers during the Gilded Age ??

  3. Unhappy Farmers • Boll weevil infestation – early 1890s • Grasshoppers ravaged prairie farms • Floods eroded the topsoil away • Expensive fertilizers had to be bought • Long successions of droughts that seared the land • Whole towns were abandoned • Land overassessed; taxes too high

  4. The Silver Issue • “Crime of ’73” demonetization ofsilver (govt. stopped coining silver). • Bland-Allison Act (1878)  limitedsilver coinage to $2-$4 mil. per mo.(based on the 16:1 ratio of silver togold). • Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890) • The US Treasury must purchase$4.5 mil. oz. of silver a month. • Govt. deposited most silver in theUS Treasury rather than circulation.

  5. Economic downturn after the Civil War Deflation Money in circulation decreased Prices decreased Spending increased Inflation More money in circulation Value of dollar falls Prices increased Consumers purchase less The Demand for Cheaper Money

  6. Populism: An Agrarian Revolt

  7. Price Indexes for Consumer & Farm Products: 1865-1913

  8. Unhappy Farmers • High protective tariffs put money in hands of manufacturers • Farmers had no choice but to sell their low priced products in a competitive world market • Had to buy high priced manufactured goods at home • At the mercy of trusts & middlemen • Farmers were disorganized – by nature, independent

  9. Outrageous prices to transport grain Railroads made secret agreements with middlemen Allowed the railroads to control grain storage prices This influenced the market price of crops Farmers mortgaged their crops Farmers stuck in a cycle of credit and more debt Problems with the Railroads

  10. Oliver Kelley - farmer Created the Patrons of Husbandry group It became an organization for farmers The Grange – popular name of Patrons of H. Social outlet and educational forum for isolated farm families The Farmers’ Alliances

  11. Founder of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (1867)

  12. The Grange Movement • First organized in the 1870s in the Midwest, the south, and Texas. • Set up cooperative associations. • Social and educational components. • Succeeded in lobbying for “Granger Laws.” • Rapidly declined by the late 1870s.

  13. Supreme Court Decision • Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad Company vs. Illinois (1886) • Decreed that individual states had no power to regulate interstate commerce • Therefore, Grangers couldn’t get laws passed limiting commerce in states anymore

  14. Giftfor theGrangers: The FarmerPays for All!

  15. The Farmers Alliances • Begun in the late 1880s (Texas first  the Southern Alliance; then in the Midwest  the Northern Alliance). • Built upon the ashes of the Grange. • More political and less social than the Grange. • Ran candidates for office. • Controlled 8 state legislatures & had 47representatives in Congress during the 1890s.

  16. United We Stand, Divided We Fall • In 1889 both the Northern andSouthern Alliancesmerged into one—the Farmers’ Alliance.

  17. The Populist (Peoples’) Party • 1890 Mid-Term Elections: • So. Alliance  wanted to gain control of the Democratic Party. • No. Alliance  ran 3rd Party candidates. • 1892  800 met in St. Louis, MO • majority were Alliance members. • over 100 were African Americans. • reps. of labor organizations & other reformers (Grange, Greenback Party).

  18. Platform of Lunacy

  19. The Populist (Peoples’) Party • Founded by James B. Weaverand Tom Watson. • Omaha, NE Convention in July,1892. • Got almost 1 million popularvotes. • Several Congressional seatswon. James B. Weaver, Presidential Candidate &James G. Field, VP

  20. Populism – movement of the people Populist Party Convention demanded reforms to give help to farmers Economic reforms proposed Increase in money supply Graduated income tax Federal loan program 8 hour workday Immigration restrictions These were all radical changes at the time The Populist Party

  21. Omaha Platform of 1892 System of “sub-treasuries.” Abolition of the National Bank. Direct election of Senators. Govt. ownership of RRs, telephone & telegraph companies. Government-operated postal savings banks. Restriction of undesirable immigration. 8-hour work day for government employees. Abolition of the Pinkerton detective agency. Australian secret ballot. Re-monitization of silver. A single term for President & Vice President.

  22. Govt.-Owned Companies

  23. Populists were popular in the Midwest and the West They became a force in politics Their programs became the platform for the Democratic Party 1880s – U.S. economy grew too fast Farmers and businesspeople took out too many loans to be able to pay back Railroads went bankrupt The Populist Party

  24. 1892 Election

  25. The Panic of 1893

  26. Industries related to railroads became affected by bankruptcies Stock Market collapsed Banks stopped giving loans Gold reserves fell The Panic deepened into a Depression 15,000 businesses and 600 banks folded 3 million unemployed Agriculture problems and unemployment Panic of 1893

  27. Causes of the 1893 Panic • Begun 10 days after Cleveland took office. • Several major corps. went bankrupt. • Over 16,000 businesses disappeared. • Triggered a stock market crash. • Over-extended investments. • Bank failures followed causing a contractionof credit [nearly 500 banks closed]. • By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million. • Americans cried out for relief, but the Govt.continued its laissez faire policies!!

  28. Major parties divided over different regions and economic interests “Gold Bugs” – favored gold standard Backing dollars only with gold “Free Silverites” – favored bimetallism Gold or silver for cash or checks Silver more plentiful than gold Gold more valuable Gold standard – stable, but expensive currency Free Silver

  29. Bi-Metallism Issue

  30. Here Lies Prosperity

  31. Written by a Farmer at the End of the 19c When the banker says he's brokeAnd the merchant’s up in smoke,They forget that it's the farmer who feeds them all.It would put them to the testIf the farmer took a rest;Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds them all.

  32. Coxey’s Army, 1894 • Jacob Coxey & his “Army of the Commonwealth of Christ.” • March on Washington  “hayseed socialists!”

  33. Coxey’s Army, 1894 • Most famous of those dispossessed by the Panic of 1893 • Demanded the gov’t relieve unemployment with a public works program • Marched to DC to support this • Took supporters & reporters with him • “General” Coxey & his lieutenants arrested for walking on the grass

  34. Pullman Strike, 1894 • American Railway Union organized by Eugene Debs, known socialist • Protesting lost jobs & cut wages at Pullman Palace Car Company • Also wanted employees to continue to pay their rents • AFL declined to support the strikers • Cleveland supported the dispatch of federal troops – interfering with U.S. mail • Strike was crushed

  35. Result of Election Returns • Populist voteincreased by40% in the midterm election year, 1894. • Democratic party losses in the West werecatastrophic! • But, Republicanswon control of the House.

  36. The 1896 Election

  37. Gold / Silver Bug Campaign Pins

  38. William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) The “Great Commoner”

  39. William Jennings Bryan Prairie avenger, mountain lion, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Gigantic troubadour, speaking like a siege gun, Smashing Plymouth Rock with his boulders from the West. • Revivalist style of oratory.

  40. 1896 Republicans nominate William McKinley Conservative Ohioan – former congressman For the Gold Standard Democratic Party Favored bimetallism Couldn’t settle on a candidate - Cleveland was blamed for economic depression William Jennings Bryan – former member of Congress Currently Editor of Omaha World-Herald Gave speech to the Democratic Convention Bryan and the “Cross of Gold”

  41. Bryan’s“Cross of Gold” Speech You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon across of gold!

  42. The speech earned him the Democratic nomination The Populists nominated Bryan as well for president with a Populist Vice-President nominee Hoped to retain their party and a nominee who could win the election “Gold bug” Democrats left the party McKinley campaigned well and won by 500,000 votes Populism collapsed with McKinley’s election Bryan and the “Cross of Gold”

  43. Bryan: The Farmers Friend(The Mint Ratio) 18,000 miles of campaign “whistle stops.”

  44. Democratic Party Taken Over by the Agrarian Left Platform  tariff reductions; income tax; strictercontrol of the trusts (esp. RRs); free silver.

  45. Mark Hanna: The “Front-Porch” Campaign

  46. William McKinley (1843-1901)

  47. “A Giant Straddle”: Suggestion for a McKinley Political Poster

  48. The Seasoned Politician vs. The “Young” Newcomer

  49. Joshua A. Levering: Prohibition Party

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