What Led To The Formation Of The Populist Parties

During the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, often referred to as the “Agricultural Revolution”, the United States’ large farmer population was growing increasingly discontent with the state of political affairs. Wheat and cotton prices were at an all time low due to their high tariffs, deflation, debts and the expansion of the railroad onto farm property. Additionally, unfair freight rates contributed to farmers’ unrest and a desire for political reform. As a result, many sought immediate and radical change through political means. This led to the establishment of the Farmer’s Alliance and later the Populist Party which both played a large role in national politics by introducing new ideas regarding economics on both a domestic

Although many Americans believed in the Jeffersonian idea of a free economy with little government intervention, many farmers who were struggling felt as it was necessary for government intervention in order to help better protect the public in this new decade of mechanized agriculture. This opinion eventually led to the creation of the Farmers’ Alliance that immediately gained predominance. This was done by creating “lines of communication” where farmers could express their grievances and join together to provoke change. The creation of this alliance gave farmers an organized and unified force to express their discontent, eventually mustering enough support to gain national attention. Economically, the Alliance sought to increase crop prices so that their members could pay off their looming mortgages on their land. However, many farmers were too poor to pay for the collective interests of those involved in the Alliance that need monetary contribution in order to make certain changes. Although having little success at first, the Farmer’s Alliance eventually developed into the Populist or People’s Party that represented the concerns of those in the Farmer’s Alliance. The party was revolutionary that voiced ideas that were often considered as radical. First, the Populists proposed a bimetallic standard that

Originally a group of unorganized and angry farmers, the group united behind a common force, the Farmer’s Alliance, which eventually developed into the nationally recognized Populist Party. They introduced many new ideas for the late 19th century including a graduated income tax, bimetallism, and the direct election of senators. Although, eventually being berated for their radical ideas, today we are to recognize the Populist idea of direct election of senators as seen with the 17th Amendment in addition to the graduated income tax that we have today. The Populist Party was a party interested in the idea of true democracy for the betterment of the public, although the conditions of the late 19th century did not prove as a place for the party to prosper as they only received 22 electoral votes during the election of 1892. Following the late 19th century, the Populist Party joined forces with the Democratic Party who incorporated many of their ideas which allowed for their legacy to live on in American politics. However, this was yet again another demonstration of a failure to combat America’s two party system that has existed ever since the birth of the nation. The Populist Party, although influential ideologically, was a failure in transforming the face of American