Populist Party or People’s Party
The Populist Party or People’s Party arose in the late 19th century out of agrarian economic and political protest, was short lived, and passed into history. Yet, in time, it achieved most of its platform. At the national level, the presidential administration of Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) and the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) enacted most of the Populist demands into law.
In an attempt to improve their condition, farmers in the 1870s decided to organize. They created numerous organizations including the Patrons of Husbandry or Grange, the National Farmers’ Alliance, the National Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union, and the Southern Alliance. Frustrated by their inability to get either major political party to adopt their agenda, farmers in 1890 decided to field candidates for state and national offices under diverse party labels. Farm leaders surprised themselves by gaining partial or complete control of twelve state legislatures and by electing six governors, three senators, and approximately fifty congressmen.
In July 1892, they held a convention in Omaha, Nebraska. The agrarians created the People’s or Populist Party, drafted a platform, and nominated James B. Weaver for president and James G. Field for vice president. In the 1896 presidential election, the Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan and adopted a platform that included several planks from the 1892 Populist platform. After much discussion, Populist leaders decided to support Bryan and in so doing, signed the death warrant of the Populist Party.
William Jennings Bryan was a gifted speaker, lawyer, three-time presidential candidate, and devout Protestant. Although he was born in Salem, Illinois, Bryan made his career in Nebraska politics. He won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1890. A tireless defender of the small farmer and laborer, Bryan worked closely with the Populist Party, a group of poor Midwestern and Southern farmers who suffered economically due to low prices for their crops, which they blamed on Northeastern business interests. Bryan's efforts on behalf of farmers and laborers (the so-called "common" people) earned him the title the "Great Commoner."
Bryan did not think it was necessary for the United States to hold in reserve an amount of gold equal in value to all the paper money in circulation. Bryan wanted the United States to use silver to back the dollar at a value that would inflate the prices farmers received for their crops, easing their debt burden. This position was known as the Free Silver Movement. At the Democratic National Convention in 1896, Bryan not only persuaded his party that he was right, he also secured the Democrats' nomination for the presidency with his skills as a speaker. Bryan's opponent, Republican William McKinley, beat Bryan at his own game. His campaign raised far more money than Bryan's did and he was able to persuade voters that dropping the "gold standard" would lead to inflation, rising prices for goods and services.
In spite of the efforts of western mining interests, the Republican party came into power in 1896 on a platform opposed to the free coinage of silver, except by international agreement with the leading commercial nations of the world. Finding little interest abroad, particularly in England, the American government soon abandoned any attempt to bring about such an agreement.. McKinley convinced the people that the Free Silver Movement was a bad idea. As a result, McKinley won the election with 7.1 million votes to Bryan's 6.5 million.
The Democratic Party nominated Bryan again as its candidate for President in 1900 and 1908, although he lost both elections. By 1908, the third time Bryan tried for the presidency, he had dropped to 39.1% in the nation. President Woodrow Wilson selected Bryan, one of the elder statesmen of the Democratic Party, as his Secretary of State following the 1912 presidential election.
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