The Populist Party emerged in response to economic hardship faced by farmers in the late 19th century. Dissatisfied with high railroad rates, declining farm prices, and a currency backed solely by gold, the Populists advocated for bimetallism, regulation of monopolies, and land reform. Though the Populist candidate lost the 1892 and 1896 presidential elections, the party achieved some successes by electing members to state and federal offices and influencing other parties to adopt parts of their platform. Over time, Populist ideas like direct election of senators and women's suffrage were enacted as amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

1. “Farmers should raise less corn
and more hell.”
-Mary Lease, Populist

2. Farmers in
Revolt
The Emergence of the Populist Party

3. Early Farm
Organizations
The Grange
Original Purpose 1867
“To provide a social outlet and
educational services for isolated
farmers”

5. Farmer’s Poem
When the banker says he’s broke
And the merchants up in smoke,
They forget that it’s the farmer who
feeds them all.
It would put them to the test
If the farmer took a rest;
Then they’d know that it’s the farmer
who feeds them all.

6. The Political
• The Grange united to combat the
monopolistic practices of the
Grange
railroads and grain elevators
– Its aim was to advance the political,
economic, and social interests of the
nation's farmers
– 860,000 national members
• One way they did this was by Grange
members getting elected to local,
state legislature and Congress offices

7. The Political
• Elected members to state legislature
and Congress
Grange
• Passed “Granger Laws” in the states
to regulate the rates charged by
railroads and warehouses.
• Supreme Court overturns many of
these laws

8. Farmer’s
View of
the East

9. Farmers Revolt
• Populist Movement
– Farmers caught up in a new and
complex international market
– Factors that upset farmers:
1. Farm prices had steadily declined from
1865-1890.
2. Railroads charged high shipping rates.
3. Farmers mortgaged their farms to buy new
farm machines.
4. High tariffs increased prices of factory
goods that farmers needed.

10. The Populist Party
Platform 1892
• Increase money supply – create inflation
which would raise the prices for crops.
• Free coinage of silver – farmers wanted
silver on the currency system.
• Graduated income tax – taxes increase as
income increases.
• Direct election of Senators by the people.
• Secret Ballot during elections.

11. The Populist Party
Platform 1892
• Initiative –A way for people to rather
than legislature to originate laws.
• Referendum – A way for a proposed
law to be voted on by the people.
• Recall – A way for people to remove a
public official from office.

12. 1892 Election

13. Election of 1892
• Impact:
• The Populists did not win the
presidential election, but did
achieve huge results throughout
the nation.
• Populists elected governors in Kansas
and North Dakota, 10 U.S.
Congressmen, 5 U.S. Senators, and 1500
members to state legislatures

14. Panic of
CAUSES:
1893
• Farmer’s debts
• Rapid railroad
expansion
• Drainage of gold from
treasury as a result of
the Sherman Silver
Purchase Act

15. Result of Panic
• By the end of the year, over 15,000
businesses and 500 banks had
collapsed.
• Farmers and Workers demand change.
• Populist Party and Democratic Party
nominate William Jennings Bryan who
favors money to be backed in both gold
and silver.

16. Election of 1896
• William Jennings Bryan
• William McKinley

17. Election of
1896
Republican Party
• Candidate =
McKinley
•Platform (Beliefs) :
U.S. Currency should
remain based on
Gold Standard

18. Election of 1896
Democratic and Populist Party
• Candidate = Bryan
Platform (what they stood for):
•Bimetallism – free coinage of silver
• Belief was to use gold and silver in the currency
system. Result would allow more money to be
printed
• At this time currency was only backed by gold.
•Woman suffrage – voting rights
•Income Tax – tax on people’s income

19. Bi-Metallism
Issue

20. Bryan vs. McKinley
Who
Supported
What they
Wanted
Why
Effects
Farmers and
Laborers
Bankers and
Businessmen
Bimetallism
More money in
circulation
Gold Standard
Less money in
circulation
Products would sell for
higher prices
Loans would be paid in
stable currency
INFLATION
Prices rise
Value of money
decreases
More people have
money
DEFLATION
Prices fall
Value of money
increases
Fewer people have
money

21. Into
Which
Box
Will
the
Voter
of ’96
Place
His

23. Election Results
• McKinley wins
with 7 million
votes
• Populist Party
collapsed

24. Legacy of the
Populist Party
• The downtrodden (lower class) could
organize and have political impact
• Many of the ideas of the Populist
Party Platform became law during
the first years of the 20th century

25. Populist
Party in
Literature
L. Frank Baum, a reform-minded Democrat who supported
William Jennings Bryan's pro-silver candidacy,
wrote the book… The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a parable
of the Populists, an allegory of their failed efforts to reform
the nation in 1896.

26. Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Dorothy represented
the common person.
She was from Kansas
a farming/populist
state.
•The Munchkins represent the “little people”
The Wicked Witch of the East
represented all the things
back east that were
Bringing the farmers down…
bankers and factories.

27. In the book Dorothy’s slippers were silver. In the movie they are red.
As Dorothy walked along the Yellow Brick Road
(gold) in her silver slippers it represented the proper relationship between gold and silver.
The main cause of the Populist Party to put both gold and silver on the currency system.

28. Along the way, Dorothy meets three companions:
1.The Scarecrow, who represents the farmer. Farmers were considered uneducated
and dumb they were called names like “hicks” and “hayseeds.”
2. The Tin Man represents the industrial worker who had lost his heart and only focused
on working in the factories.
3. The Cowardly Lion represents William Jennings Bryan, who actually was not a coward,
but stepped up and took on the Populist cause of free silver as the 1896 Presidential
candidate for the Democratic Party.

29. The Wicked Witch of the West represents all the things out
west that are hurting the farmers…railroad rates, low farm prices, tariffs, etc.
The Emerald City
represents Washington D.C.
The Wizard represents
politicians who are not always
What they seem.
OZ represents ounces –
16 ounces of silver = 1 bar of gold

30. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• In Baum’s book, Dorothy pours water
over the Wicked Witch of the West
and she melts. This represents the
long drought that farmers had to
endure in the Great Plains. Dorothy
returns to Kansas using her magical
silver slippers (free coinage of silver)
and the scarecrow (farmer) rules
over Oz.

31. Legacy of the Populist Party
• Direct election of senators (17th
Amendment)
• Federal Income tax (16th
Amendment)
• Women’s suffrage (19th Amendment)
• Initiative
• Referendum
• Recall