1. Populism
“What you farmers need to do is raise less corn and more
Hell!”
Mary Elizabeth Lease (1890) Populist Organizer

2. By the late 1800’s hardship had replaced
the prosperity that farm families enjoyed
after the Civil War.
American farmers now faced hard times
because of their own overproduction of
crops.
Many would blame the farmers for their
own problems because they didn’t follow
the economic belief of “supply and
demand”

3. 3
Populism:
What?
•Political movement that tried to help out the
nation’s struggling farmers

4. 4
Populism
Why?
1. Mechanization -
More machines =
more debt
2. New Farm Land
More land (on credit)
= more debt
Farmers were in trouble because of...

5. 5
Populism
Why?
3. Specialization of
Crops - Farmers only
raise one crop (leads
to trouble if that crop
has problems)
4. Disasters -
floods, boll-weevil,
grasshoppers
Farmers were in trouble because of...

6. Price Indexes for
Consumer & Farm
Products: 1865-1913

7. 7
Populism
Why?
5. Corporate Greed
Barbed wire trust,
Harvester Trust,
Fertilizer Trust, Banks,
and Railroads
Farmers were in trouble because of...
"The Iron Horse Which Eats Up
The Farmers' Produce.” 1873

8. 8
The Grange
•Farmer’s Union founded by Oliver Kelly (MN)
What?
•Cooperative movement - farmers pooled their
money to make shared purchases of machinery,
supplies, insurance, etc.
•Worked for pro-farmer laws
•Ex. Interstate Commerce Act - regulated
rates of railroads
How?

9. Government Regulation
Interstate
Commerce
Commission
(1887)
In 1887, Congress passed the
Interstate Commerce Act that
setup the ICC. The federal
government has the ability to
regulate all aspects of
interstate commerce. Rebates
and drawbacks were illegal.
Sherman
Antitrust
Act
(1890)
In 1890, Congress passed this
act which prohibited
monopolies or any business
that prevented fair competition.
With the rise of the Populist Movement: Big Business is
regulated

10. 10
Populist Party & Free Silver
Why?
•Populists believed that this would solve
nearly all of the farmer’s problems
•They wanted to use both silver and gold
coins, thus increasing the amount of money in
the country
What?
•All money would be worth less, a situation
that was bad for creditors (big banks) and
good for debtors (farmers)

11.  Silverites or farmers wanted an increase in
the money supply, the amount of money in the
national economy. As a result, the value of every
dollar drops, leading to a widespread rise in
prices, or inflation.
This trend would benefit people who borrow
money (farmers), but it would not be good for
money lenders (banks). A decrease in the money
supply would cause deflation.
Monetary policy, the federal government’s
plan for the makeup and quantity of the nation’s
money supply, thus emerged as a major political
issue.

12. Gold bugs were against this because with a
smaller money supply prices would drop and
each dollar buys more.
This would take the US off the gold standard
and hurt our credibility in the International
trade markets who were on the gold standard.
Good for people who lent money
Before 1873 U.S. currency was on a bimetallic
standard, consisting of gold and silver.
Then Congress put the currency on a gold
standard which decreased the money supply.
“Gold bugs” (big lenders) were pleased.

13. 13
A Populist President?
William Jennings Bryan
•Ran as a Populist
President in 1896 on
platform of Free Silver
“You shall not press down upon the
brow of labor this crown of thorns.
You shall not crucify mankind upon a
cross of gold” -- W.J. Bryan
•Big business opposes
his run, Republicans win
the white house, &
Populists fade away

14. 14
The Wizard of Oz
•Written by Active Populist L.
Frank Baum
•Most things in the book
represent something
important to the populist
movement

15. Gold Triumphs Over Silver
McKinley
defeats
Bryan in the 1896
election.
1900  Gold Standard
Act
Confirmed the nation’s
commitment to the gold
standard.
 A victory for the
forces of conservatism.

16. 16
The Wizard of Oz
Basic Symbols:
Ruby Slippers - In the book,
were actually
“Silver
Slippers”
(magic of Free
Silver)
Yellow Brick
Road
- “Gold” many
dangers for regular
people (like Dorothy)

17. 17
The Wizard of Oz
Characters:
Dorothy - Everyman
Scarecrow - Farmers
Tin Man -
Industrial
Workers

18. 18
The Wizard of Oz
Characters:
Cowardly Lion - William
Jennings
Byran
(a pacifist)
Toto Temperance
Activists
(allies of the
Populists)
Wizard - President
of the
United
States

19. 19
The Wizard of Oz
Places:
Emerald City - Washington
D.C. (in the
book, the color
came from
Green Glasses
that everyone
wore, a trick)
Good Witches
of North &
South
- Directions
where
Populists had
friends
(Midwest and
South)