People's Party

The latter third of the 19th century witnessed the tremendous rise of industrial capitalism in the United States. With the support of the Republican Party and a Supreme Court hostile to economic regulation, large corporations generated enormous wealth, much of which was concentrated in the hands of an eastern elite. However, for most of the farmers comprising the bulk of the population in the southern and western states, the economic picture was quite different.

Advances in agricultural technology enabled farmers to grow more crops, and the development of railroads enabled them to transport these crops to a national and even global market. But the demand for agricultural products did not keep pace with the supply, driving down the prices that the farmers received for their crops. To compensate, farmers planted more and more crops, which only served to further lower prices. Compounding the difficult economic situation of the farmers was the fact that they were forced to pay ever-increasing fees to the railroads and grain elevators for transporting and storing their crops.

The falling crop prices and high fees forced many farmers into debt. However, the federal government adhered to a strict gold standard in determining the supply of money, so there was not a lot of money circulating in the national economy. This dearth drove up the costs of borrowing, pushing farmers even further into debt or bankruptcy.

Angry at the railroads, the banks, and the two major political parties, farmers across the West and South began to form political organizations to address their plight. At the same time, efforts by industrial workers in the East to organize labor unions were being met with stiff resistance by the corporations and hostility from the courts. As a result, in the early 1890s, the rural-based Farmer's Alliance merged with the urban-based Knights of Labor to form the People's Party, also known as the Populist Party.

The initial People's Party convention took place in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1892. Included in the party platform were demands for the free coinage of silver (to increase the money supply), public ownership of the railroads, a progressive income tax, protection of the right to form labor unions, and the adoption of the ballot initiative and referendum in state and local elections. The Populists nominated James B. Weaver as their presidential candidate, and he received over one million votes in the 1892 election, as well as 22 electoral votes.

Four years later, during the 1896 campaign, populist sentiment was still high in many parts of the country. However, an internal split arose within the People's Party over electoral strategy. One faction supported the concept of "fusion," and favored endorsing the Democratic Party nominee, William Jennings Bryan, whose campaign was centered around demands for free silver. The other faction wished to remain independent of both the Democrats and the Republicans in the belief that fusion would compromise the party's integrity.

During a turbulent party convention, the fusion faction prevailed, and Bryan was endorsed as the Populist presidential candidate. In the 1896 election, Bryan was soundly defeated by William McKinley, his Republican opponent, thus hastening the demise of the Populists as a national political force. However, many of their reform ideas were ultimately adopted by the Progressive Party, the subject of the next Timeline entry