The Populist Movement The Value Of Third Parties

Topics: Populist Party, Populism, William Jennings Bryan Pages: 3 (552 words) Published: June 15, 2015
 
In which presidential campaign did the Populists first appear?  
The Populists wrote the Omaha Platform in 1892.  
 
 
 
 
3.What groups made up the Populist movement? 
 
Populists included farmers, laborers, and socialists.    
4.In what sections of the country did the Populists gain their greatest support?    Most populists came from the west or the south 
 
5.List ten political and economic reforms the Populists proposed in their platform: Free and unlimited coinage of silver at a sixteen to one ratio with gold  
Increase in the amount of money in circulation
 
Graduated income tax 
Government ownership of railroads, telephones and telegraphs  
Tariff reduction 
Direct election of senators 
Secret ballot 
Postal savings bank 
Immigration restrictions 
Initiative and referendum 
Single term presidency 
Subtreasury plan to help finance farmers at harvest time.   
 
6.To what extent did Populists continue to focus on grievances of earlier movements? The Greenback Party of the 1870s pushed for inflation based on free silver, and  they worked for regulation, if not public ownership, of the railroads as was called for by  the Grange movement and the Farmer’s Alliance.

 
What percent of the total popular vote in 1892 did each party get? Republicans (44%), Democrats (47%), Populists (9%)  
 
7. How do these percentages explain why the Democrats adopted several Populist  planks and nominated the Populist candidate as their own nominee in 1896?  The Populist vote of nearly 9 percent in the 1892 election attracted the attention  of both major political parties. However, the Republicans were philosophically further  removed from the Populists and would have been less likely to adopt their positions.  The Populist vote, cast as a bloc, could have altered the outcome of the 1892 election.  This is a point the Democrats noted in the national convention of 1896.   

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