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Additional Information

"Early Populism in the United States -- In the years following the Civil War, the US heartland suffered from an overabundance of wheat and rice; these surpluses, coupled with the advances in transportation and communication, drove prices down. Farmers were forced into high debt which they could never repay, leading to deflation and a scarcity of currency. Since many farmers didn’t own the land that they worked, the banks often had to foreclose when farmers were unable to pay their debts. Farmers blamed their problems on a number of different factors. They blamed the railroads, which usually gave discount rates to bigger shippers. They blamed the banks, who loaned money to the rich but were unforgiving of farmers’ economic plight. They also blamed the tax system, claiming that it was easy for businesses to hide their assets, and impossible for farmers to do so. They also blamed the tariff, which discouraged other countries from buying US goods. The Patrons of Husbandry (Grange) organization was founded in 1867 by Oliver Kelley to establish cooperatives, in which individuals bought goods directly from the whole-sale distributor. His group was also responsible for the Granger Laws, which attacked railroad and grain elevator interests. The Grange, however, had basically disappeared by 1875. The National Farmer’s Alliance and Industrial Union pursued a number of different initiatives: more national banks; cooperatives; a federal storage system for non-perishable items; more currency; free coinage of silver; reduction of tariff; direct election of senators; 8-hour workday; government control of railroads and telegraphs; and one term for the president. This group’s success led to the formation of the Populist Party in 1890. This party aimed to speak for the farmers, and included all of the farmer’s unions as well as some labor unions, the Greenbackers, and the Prohibitionists. The party suffered from internal divisions from its inception.

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