enter the populists 1892-1896
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Enter the Populists 1892-1896. Why do you think the artist used the term “Platform of Lunacy” when describing the Populist “ship”?. The Grange Movement. First organized in the 1870s in the Midwest , the south, and Texas . Set up cooperative associations. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Enter the
Populists
1892-1896
Why do you think the artist used the term “Platform of Lunacy” when describing the
Populist “ship”?
The Grange MovementFirst 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.
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.
United We
Stand, Divided We Fall
In 1889 both the Northern andSouthern Alliancesmerged into one—the Farmers’ Alliance.
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
The Populist (Peoples) Party
1890 Bi-Election:
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).
Omaha Platform of 18921. System of “sub-treasuries.”
2. Abolition of the National Bank.
3. Direct election of Senators.
4. Govt. ownership of RRs, telephone & telegraph companies.
5. Government-operated postal savings banks.
6. Restriction of undesirable immigration.
7. 8-hour work day for government employees.
8. Abolition of the Pinkerton detective agency.
9. Australian secret ballot.
10. Re-monitization of silver.
11. A single term for President & Vice President.
Bi-Metallism Issue
The Prophets of the People
Mary Elizabeth Lease William Hope Harvey
Price Indexes for Consumer & Farm Products: 1865-
1913
Causes of the 1893 PanicBegun 10 days after Cleveland took office.
1. Several major corps. went bankrupt.
Over 16,000 businesses disappeared.
Triggered a stock market crash.
Over-extended investments.
2. Bank failures followed causing a contractionof credit [nearly 500 banks closed].
3. By 1895, unemployment reached 3 million.
Americans cried out for relief, but the Govt.continued its laissez faire policies!!
Outcome of the DepressionUnemployment
Rates (approx.)1892 3.01893 11.7 1894 18.4 1895 13.7 1896 14.5
Coxey’s Army
March on DCGov’t relief needed by inflating public works
Arrested in DC for walking on the grass
Outcome of the DepressionPullman Strike
Chicago Railcar Factory: 1894
Nation wide sympathy strikesRail traffic slows heavilyEugene V. Debs leads
Blacks brought in as replacement work
Strike become violentUS Soldiers sent in by Grover Cleveland
Panic of 1893 cuts demandPullman cuts wages12 hour workdaysCut wages but no lowering of rents
Eugene V. DebsArrested and sentenced to jail
6 months for defying court order to stop strike
Developed more radical and socialist ideas in prison
Later wrote and helped grow Socialist party in US
Sound familiar???
1896Republicans
Nominated:
William McKinley
Controlled by:
Mark Hanna
Platform Called For:
Lean towards Gold only, high tariffs, blamed Democrats for Depression
1896Democrats
Nominated:
William Jennings Bryan
Rise to Fame:
Cross of Gold Speech at1896 Democratic Convention
Platform Called For:
16:1 silver to gold, lower tariff, inflationary works
1896Cross of Gold Speech
"Having behind us the producing masses ofthis nation and the world, supported by thecommercial interests, the laboring interestsand the toilers everywhere, we will answertheir demand for a gold standard by sayingto 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."
From: Coin’s Financial School
Republican Campaign Poster in 1896
1896
The Campaign:
Bryan barnstormed the nation giving speeches
McKinley stayed at home, relying on Hanna’s campaign chest to pay for results
Democrat “Goldbugs” bolted
Fear of Bryan and free silver affected factories and workers
McKinley wins finalelection: 271-176
1896-1900
1897: Dingley Tariff Bill Passed (average rate of 46.5%
1900: Gold Standard Act passed, all
redemptions in gold onlyHuge Gold discoveries in Klondike
andSouth Africa helped inflate Gold
supply