jan 1, 1892 - Populist Party founded
Description:
The Populist Party, otherwise known as the People's Party, was founded to address the growing concerns of the working class.
The party's story starts in the 1870s with the creation of the Farmer's Alliance, the largest citizens' movement of the century. They were a politically active organization that proposed legislation to amend the problems faced by workers. For example, they proposed a plan for a subtreasury, in which farmers that could not sell all of their crops could instead give them to the government to store. The crops could then be used as collateral for loans that farmers could take out from the government. This would mean that farmers didn't have to rely on wealthy bankers for their money, who would not give good rates. The organization held sway in regional governments, but to compete on a national scale the Alliance's leaders dropped the organization and created the Populist Party in its place. The party claimed that democracy and liberty had been destroyed by corruption and inequality, and that a large number of reforming would be required to fix it. They mainly appealed to the farmers from the Alliance, but attempted to include others, such as factory workers and even women. They also tried to attract black farmers (such as sharecroppers), but it was never fully realized.
They ran their first presidential candidate, James Weaver, in 1892. He won over 1,000,000 popular votes (9%), nearly all from the West. He even managed to take 22 electoral votes, from states, including all of Kansas, Nevada, Idaho, and Colorado. However, that was still only 5%, nowhere close to winning. They combined their forces with Democratic nominee William Bryan in 1896, but he was only able to take 39% of the electoral college. The Populist Party's ideals were soon absorbed by the Democratic Party entirely, and the third party soon collapsed.
Though the Populists were never able to win a presidential election, many of their suggested policies would be gradually implemented over the next century, such as the popular election of senators or a graduated income tax. It was the most successful third party in the country's history.
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