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The People' Party
By the end of the 1870s Midwestern farmers formed the Grange Movement to pressure state governments to establish fair railroad rates and warehouse charges. The government backed low rate loans and strong currency that defined the Colfax administration had inadvertently created the conditions for railroads to move in quickly and monopolize warehouse infrastructure in the South, which in turn led to southern farmers allying with their northern counterparts to form the Farmers' Alliance. The short term goal of which was to extend the scope of the Chase administration's loans to allow farmers to use grain stored in government warehouses as collateral to gain access to new loans, thereby allowing them to not be beholden to tycoons and banks who had benefited the most from the Chase loans.
By 1892 the Farmers' Alliance grew to form a new political party, as the Democrats had largely lost their political relevance outside of northeastern cities. The People's Party or Populists as they were often called, held their first convention in 1892 in Omaha and ran Congressman James B. Weaver as their candidate against John Sherman and the Republicans who by this point had enjoyed 32 years of control of the White House and Congress. Sherman did not take Weaver's campaign seriously, and did not really campaign, but Weaver managed to narrowly beat Sherman as the first Populist elected in the country's history. Weaver's victory all but killed the Democrats' chances of survival, and by 1900 the party had dissolved.
Despite Weaver's surprise victory his Presidency was not particularly successful, as the Populists could not control the House and Senate without a coalition with Democrats, who seldom backed the Populists' proposals, particularly Weaver's more progressive proposals such as government ownership of the railroads. Weaver's administration also didn't have much luck beyond offering temporary relief to the Panic of 1892 and would be faced with another recession in 1895 that ultimately doomed his Presidency. Despite these failures, Weaver did secure his place in history as the President who formally brought Reconstruction to an end in 1896 with the readmission of Texas to the Union, despite the Republicans retaking control of the House in the midterms of 1894. Weaver would be defeated by Ohio Governor William McKinley in the 1896 elections, but his party would endure, winning back control of the House in 1904 and the Presidency the same year with the election of Clarence Darrow.
By 1892 the Farmers' Alliance grew to form a new political party, as the Democrats had largely lost their political relevance outside of northeastern cities. The People's Party or Populists as they were often called, held their first convention in 1892 in Omaha and ran Congressman James B. Weaver as their candidate against John Sherman and the Republicans who by this point had enjoyed 32 years of control of the White House and Congress. Sherman did not take Weaver's campaign seriously, and did not really campaign, but Weaver managed to narrowly beat Sherman as the first Populist elected in the country's history. Weaver's victory all but killed the Democrats' chances of survival, and by 1900 the party had dissolved.
Despite Weaver's surprise victory his Presidency was not particularly successful, as the Populists could not control the House and Senate without a coalition with Democrats, who seldom backed the Populists' proposals, particularly Weaver's more progressive proposals such as government ownership of the railroads. Weaver's administration also didn't have much luck beyond offering temporary relief to the Panic of 1892 and would be faced with another recession in 1895 that ultimately doomed his Presidency. Despite these failures, Weaver did secure his place in history as the President who formally brought Reconstruction to an end in 1896 with the readmission of Texas to the Union, despite the Republicans retaking control of the House in the midterms of 1894. Weaver would be defeated by Ohio Governor William McKinley in the 1896 elections, but his party would endure, winning back control of the House in 1904 and the Presidency the same year with the election of Clarence Darrow.
- Sean McKnight
- Word Count: 400