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EQ The Election of 1896

Page history last edited by Mr. Hengsterman 3 weeks, 6 days ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE FARMERS UNITE
Some farmers would burn their crop as fuel due to the high cost  unlike the workers in the east – there were no “unions” to 
look after the interest of the farmers –  so they got together and decided to make one
 


 

 

                   "Farmers were by nature independent and individualistic— dead set against consolidation or regimentation." 

American Pageant p 611

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNITY = SUCCESS
Grange – Farmer’s Alliance – Populist Party

 

 

1867- Oliver Kelley started the first National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry AKA the Grange  it began as a non-political group whose goals were to stimulate farm families (social, educational, and fraternal)  Milton Grange

1880's Northwest Farmers' Alliance began in Chicago and spread throughout the Midwest. By 1890, it had 2 million members.

 

1886Colored Farmers National Alliance addressed the needs of African-American farmers in the South and in the Midwest. By 1890, it had between 1 and 1.5 million members.

 


 

1889 - Farmers and Laborers' Union of America was a regional association in the Southwest. By 1890, it had 3 million members. 

 

 

 

 

 

Munn v. Illinois (1877) – Railroad discrimination against farmers led to pro-farming legislation in the Grange Laws. These laws were challenged by large corporations, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of state regulation because it had a direct effect on the general public. In its ruling, the court upheld the right of state legislatures to regulate railroad rates. 

 

"Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite wrote the majority opinion. In it he stated that private property becomes subject to regulation by the government through its 'police powers' when the property is devoted to the public interest" Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, eds., The Reader's Companion to American History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991) 759. 

"Common carriers exercise a sort of public office, and have duties to perform in which the public is    interested.... Their business is, therefore, 'affected with a public interest.'"-- (From the majority opinion of Chief Justice Waite.) 

After this legal victory, the Grange backed away from political activism. In addition, improved agricultural conditions in the Midwest caused membership to drop.

 

Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific RR Co. v. IL (1886) – Reversal of 1877 decision, only the federal government was declared able to regulate interstate commerce.

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

1892 - The Populist Party In 1890, farmers elected 5 United States senators, 6 governors, and 46 congressmen. Encouraged by this electoral success, farmers again set their sights on a national coalition. The three major farmers' organizations held a convention in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1892. Six principal demands emerged from this meeting 

 

 

 

 

 

THE POPULIST PARTY and THE OMAHA PLATFORM

 

In July 1892, the members of the People's Party of America, also known as the Populists, gathered in Omaha to organize a national reform effort. Their platform, largely the work of Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota, stated their main grievances and hopes for change. The party also nominated General James B. Weaver as their candidate for president. Weaver received more than a million votes and carried four western states. As you examine the Populist Party platform, think about the nation's economic and political situation in 1892. 

 

  1. A permanent union of all working classes
  2. Wealth for the workers
  3. Government ownership of railroads
  4. Government ownership of all communications systems
  5. More flexible and fair distribution of the national currency
  6. No more ownership of land by those who do not actually use it

As it turned out, the Populists' less radical demands, such as their call for a secret ballot, a graduated income tax, and the direct election of Senators, became law within twenty years.

 

 

Omaha Platform of 1892| American Farmers want a piece of the P.I.E

 

P... Public ownership of railroads and utilities; 

 

I..... Income tax;       

 

E.... Expanded money supply 

 

 

 

 

 

A QUICK REVIEW OF PANICS 

 

The Panic of 1893   Triggered by the failure of the National Cordage Company in May and marked by many bank failures and business bankruptcies later in the year, this panic exacerbated an already serious economic decline.

 

The causes were worldwide, but in the United States the conflict over the coinage of silver, which was advocated by groups hurt by the long deflationary cycle, was a major factor. 

 

 

A Review of Marches on Washington 

 

In 1894, Jacob Coxey, an Ohio businessman, organized a protest march of workers from Ohio to Washington, DC.  Coxey hoped that this march would force the federal government to provide assistance to workers during the Panic of 1893.  Coxey's Armyas it eventually became known, reached the nation's capital with only six hundred marchers.  Local police arrested Coxey and the march's other leaders. 

 

 

 

 

The presidential election of 1896 pitted Republican William McKinley against William Jennings Bryan, who won both Democratic and People's Party endorsements. While McKinley gave speeches to thousands of visitors in his hometown of Canton, Ohio, Bryan barnstormed around the nation by railroad.

 

 

 

THE POPULIST PARTY
The Wizard of Oz as a Parable for Populism 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

The Election of 1896 
Participation of Eligible Voters: 79.3%
Review Key Elections in American History

 

 

 

 

Financing likewise changed radically. Under the Second and Third Party Systems, parties financed their campaigns through patronage; now civil service reform was undercutting that revenue, and entirely new, outside sources of funding became critical.

 

Mark Hanna systematically told nervous businessmen and financiers that he had a business plan to win the election, and then billed them for their share of the cost. Hanna spent $3.5 million in three months for speakers, pamphlets posters and rallies that all warned of doom and anarchy if Bryan should win, and offered prosperity and pluralism under William McKinley. Party loyalty itself weakened as voters were switching between parties much more often. It became respectable to declare oneself an “independent.”

 

 

The Republican McKinley won a sweeping victory in the electoral college, with 271 electoral votes to Bryan's 176. 

The popular vote was much closer: 7,102,246 to 6,492,559. Most of the votes cast for Bryan were Silver Democratic

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://billmoyers.com/story/the-year-of-the-populist-outsider-1896/

 

 

 

 

 

 

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