populism take 2

Populism

“What you farmers need to do is raise less corn and more Hell!”

Mary Elizabeth Lease (1890) Populist Organizer

By the late 1800’s hardship had replaced the prosperity that farm

families enjoyed after the Civil War. American farmers now faced hard

times because of their own overproduction of crops.

Many would blame the farmers for their own problems because they

didn’t follow the economic belief of “supply and demand”

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Populism:

What?

• Political movement that tried to help out the nation’s struggling farmers

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Populism

Why?

1. Mechanization - More machines = more debt

2. New Farm Land More land (on credit) = more debt

Farmers were in trouble because of...

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Populism

Why?

3. Specialization of Crops - Farmers only raise one crop (leads to trouble if that crop has problems)

4. Disasters - floods, boll-weevil, grasshoppers

Farmers were in trouble because of...

Price Indexes for Consumer & FarmProducts: 1865-

1913

Price Indexes for Consumer & FarmProducts: 1865-

1913

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Populism

Why?

5. Corporate Greed Barbed wire trust, Harvester Trust, Fertilizer Trust, Banks, and Railroads

Farmers were in trouble because of...

"The Iron Horse Which Eats Up The Farmers' Produce.” 1873

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The Grange

• Farmer’s Union founded by Oliver Kelly (MN)

What?

• Cooperative movement - farmers pooled their money to make shared purchases of machinery, supplies, insurance, etc.

• Worked for pro-farmer laws

• Ex. Interstate Commerce Act - regulated rates of railroads

How?

Government Regulation

Interstate Commerce

Commission(1887)

In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce

Act that setup the ICC.  The federal government has the

ability to regulate all aspects of interstate

commerce. Rebates and drawbacks were illegal.

ShermanAntitrust

Act(1890)

In 1890, Congress passed this act which prohibited

monopolies or any business that prevented fair

competition.

With the rise of the Populist Movement: Big Business is regulated

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Populist Party & Free Silver

Why?• Populists believed that this would

solve nearly all of the farmer’s problems

• They wanted to use both silver and gold coins, thus increasing the amount of money in the country

What?

• All money would be worth less, a situation that was bad for creditors (big banks) and good for debtors (farmers)

Silverites or farmers wanted an increase in the money supply, the

amount of money in the national economy. As a result, the value of every dollar

drops, leading to a widespread rise in prices, or inflation.

This trend would benefit people who borrow money (farmers), but it would not

be good for money lenders (banks). A decrease in the money supply would

cause deflation. Monetary policy, the federal

government’s plan for the makeup and quantity of the nation’s money supply,

thus emerged as a major political issue.

Gold bugs were against this because with a smaller money supply prices would drop

and each dollar buys more. This would take the US off the gold

standard and hurt our credibility in the International trade markets who were on the gold standard. Good for people who

lent moneyBefore 1873 U.S. currency was on a

bimetallic standard, consisting of gold and silver.

Then Congress put the currency on a gold standard which decreased the money

supply. “Gold bugs” (big lenders) were pleased.

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A Populist President?

William Jennings Bryan

• Ran as a Populist President in 1896 on platform of Free Silver

“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold” -- W.J. Bryan

• Big business opposes his run, Republicans win the white house, & Populists fade away

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The Wizard of Oz

• Written by Active Populist L. Frank Baum

• Most things in the book represent something important to the populist movement

Gold Triumphs Over SilverGold Triumphs Over Silver

McKinley defeats Bryan in the

1896 election.1900 Gold

Standard Act

Confirmed the nation’s commitment to the gold standard.

A victory for the forces of conservatism.

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The Wizard of Oz

Basic Symbols:

Ruby Slippers

- In the book, were actually “Silver Slippers” (magic of Free Silver)

Yellow Brick Road

- “Gold” many dangers for regular people (like Dorothy)

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The Wizard of Oz

Characters:

Dorothy - Everyman

Scarecrow - Farmers

Tin Man -Industrial Workers

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The Wizard of Oz

Characters:

Cowardly Lion

- William Jennings Byran

(a pacifist)

Toto Temperance Activists

(allies of the Populists)

Wizard - President

of the United States

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The Wizard of Oz

Places:

Emerald City - Washington D.C. (in the book, the color came from Green Glasses that everyone wore, a trick)

Good Witches of

North & South

- Directions where Populists had friends (Midwest and South)