SE: US 3A

By Brad Harris,

Grand Prairie, TX

Farmers Struggle

During the 1880s,

new inventions

greatly increased

farm production

But greater

production led to

lower prices for

farm goods

They believed the only

way to convince the

government to help

them was to organize.

A economic

depression hit the

nation and many farmers went bankrupt.

Farmers Struggle

The GrangeThe first national farm

organization was the

Patrons of Husbandry, also

known as The Grange

Many farmers joined the

Grange to get help during

the difficult economic times The Grangers pressured

railroads to reduce their rates

to haul their goods to market.

Grangers created cooperatives,

which were marketing

organizations that worked for

the benefit of their members

Farmers’ Alliance

By the late 1880s, a new organization known as the

Farmers Alliance began to form

Farmers Alliances were created throughout the south

and west but alliance failed help the farmers enough

PopulismThe struggle of the farmers led to a rise of a belief

known as Populism

Populism was the movement to increase farmers’

political power to work to pass laws in their interest

Populist Demands

1) unlimited coinage of silver

2) federal ownership of railroads

3) a graduated income tax

4) direct election of U.S. Senators

The_Birth_of_the_Populist_Party

America’s

currency should be

based on Gold

Coining unlimited

silver would solve

the nations

economic crisis

When farmers found that the Democratic Party would

not meet their demands, many broke away and created

the People’s Party, also known as the Populists

Election of 1896

William Jennings Bryan William McKinley

In the Election of 1896, a

major issue was improving

the U.S. economy

Democrats nominated

William Jennings Bryan,

a supporter of unlimited

silver, drawing most

Populists back to the

Democratic Party

Bryan: The Farmers Friend

18,000 miles of campaign “whistle stops.”

Was backed by people in the South and West,

especially farmers

Silverite, was opposed to the “gold standard”

“You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

“Cross of Gold” Speech

William Jennings Bryan’s speech denouncing the

gold standard and calling for the U.S. to use silver,

which would lower the value of the dollar, thus

leading to an increase in the value of goods

William Jennings Bryan

The Democratic Party became split because of

Bryan’s support for many Populist beliefs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Bryan,_Judge_magazine,_1896.jpg

William McKinley

Governor of Ohio who was supported by the industrial

part of the nation (Northeast and Midwest)

McKinley supported the gold standard which would

strengthen the value of the dollar and big business

Election of 1896

Because many “Gold Democrats” would not vote for

Bryan, McKinley won the election. The Populists lost

most of its following and Populism died out.

The_Populists

Gold Triumphs Over Silver1900 Gold

Standard Act

confirmed the nation’s

commitment to

the gold standard.

A victory for the

forces of

conservatism.

Republicans would

dominate politics the

next decade

The depression ends during the

McKinley administration

Objections to the gold standard

lessen

The Gold Standard is adopted

when Congress passed the Gold

Standard Act in 1900

Wizard of Oz connection

“Parable of the Populists”?

Tornado ?

Dorothy ?

Kansas ?

Wicked Witch of theEast ?

Tin Woodsman ?

Scarecrow ?

Cowardly Lion ?

Yellow Brick Road ?

Silver Slippers ?

Emerald City ?

Oz ?

The Wizard ?

Munchkins ?

Wicked Witch of the West ?

Flying Monkeys ?

The United States stays on the Gold Standard until the 1970s

Third Parties can cause major parties to change agendas

Depressions cause panic in the moment but are soon forgotten once prosperity begins

Many of the beliefs of the Populists were the root of Progressives

The Fight

for Civil

Rights

during the

Gilded Age By Brad Harris,

Grand Prairie HS SE: US 3C