The recent speeches by William Jennings, have attracted a lot of attention from the people. The recent growth of Jennings’ Populism is concerning those of us who want the United States to remain true to its beliefs. Populism proposes ideas which on the surface support the lower classes but in reality would undermine our very country. One of the main problems that arise from Populist movement is their idea of a government controlled railroad. According to the Populists, this government control of the railroads will result in equal pricing for all people, so that farmers can transport their goods more easily. Such an idea is against the fundamental idea of the Constitution, because it not only has the government expanding their control more than it needs, but also creates a system that segregates certain jobs and take away their chances. According the constitution, the powers of the government can be expanded only if the change is necessary to maintain the stability of the country. Controlling the railroad business is neither proper nor necessary to …show more content…
The Populists claim that the workday is way too long and creates a system where people cannot find time for their own ambitions. However, it is through the long work days that the millionaires of our era learned the value of hard work and the fruits which hard work bears. If these self-made men worked for just eight hours a day, a belief would be instilled that work ethic is not directly related to result, thus resulting in a belief that work is not related to gain. Aside from devaluing hard work, the regulation of work day would impact our economy in huge ways. By reducing the amount that US factories create, the shorter work days would pose a financial problem for our government as with less manufacturing, the government earns less tax dollars while still being required to pay for roads and postal service as well as the armies protecting our
The populists created a Farmers’ Alliance that began in Texas and it organized low cost insurance for farmers and put banks in their place with regulations. The Farmer’s Alliance also gave the government the ownership of the transportation system to regulate their costs and monopolies. When the Grangers lobbied for regulation of the
Throughout the 1880s and 1890s America was going through many changes and many of these were fought by the Populists. Silver being demonetized was another major problem for the Populists and they fought it along with asking for a national government regulated currency as well. The Populist Party also fought against the harsh taxes that were in place at the time in the United States. The biggest concern for many of the Populists was how to handle crop failures and how prices were to be controlled. All in all, the Populist movement was centered on helping out the farmers and improving the ever changing economy.
The Populist Party was hardly winning any support from the eastern and northeastern part of the United States. Most of the party’s goals would negatively affect the industrial economy and quite possibly cause a backward reform into the agricultural past. Another goal of the Omaha Platform was to transfer the operation and ownership of railroads to the government for the best interest of the people. They would also want to transfer the control of all types of communication such as, telegraphs and telephones to the government as well. This would hurt all the transportation and communication businesses in the country. Big business owner such as, Andrew Carnegie would be against the Omaha Platform and as people knew, money could control the government. If he did not own his own railroad company it would hurt his business significantly; it would for him to pay for transportation causing a chain reaction and raising the price of steel in reaction causing the price of anything with steel to
During the 1890’s many pivotal events led to a new coming of a political party that left an everlasting impact on American history known as the “Populist movement”. The Populist movement begin around the late eighteen hundred in efforts to reverse the declining economic prospects and rescue the control from the powerful government (Foner 509). With that being said, there were several event that led to the creation of the movement. The 1890’s imposition of a new radical system locked African Americans into the status of second class citizenships, which ultimately denied African Americans freedoms that many white individuals took for granted. Also, the increase of immigration led to heated debates considering the Spanish American war. Many Americans
The Populist party was a political movement in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that strived to give more political power to the common man. Politician and orator William James Bryan was the leader of the movement. The Populist party grew exponentially and in 1896 Bryan was the democratic presidential nominee where he only lost by 95 electoral votes. Many people see the “Wizard Of Oz” as a representation of the populist movement. These similarities can be seen in the group traveling to emerald city, the Wicked Witch of the West, and in The Wizard himself. All three of these Can be tied back to the Populist movement.
Why was the Populist movement so popular in the late 1800s? Before answering this question, answer this, what is the Populist movement? The populist movement was for a chance of political, social, and economical equality within American society. Strongly appealing to the farmers and industrial workers, the populists tried to bring the people back in power, rather than the money that was controlling civilization. This movement was very popular in the 1800s because it was trying to gain the rights back of the working class because of the rise in prices of crops and how the West was over producing food, which caused them to be transport their food more, however, the railroads were charging high prices to ship.Three points to give a better understanding
The populist movement started out as the Farmers Alliance in the 1870s, and began moving throughout the south and west mostly in rural areas such as farms. They pursued many reforms in that times society such as education funding, infrastructure, workplace reform and support of agriculture. One person who was a big part of the populist movement was William Jennings Brian, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1896. He sought to change the worth of
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history. The Populists and Progressives were both grass roots movements, and addressed the needs of the poor and powerless, for the Populists it was farmers and for the Progressives it was urban lower and middle class workers. These two movements attempted to bring the powerless peoples issues to national politics. The Populists and Progressives wanted to preserve some American ideals of
American politics has evolved significantly over the years. The election this year involves a lot of controversies. Donald Trump has come out as a controversial candidate. The 2016 election involves competition between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Apart from the federal government of the United States of America, each state has its own form of government that runs the affairs of the state independently.
The autumn of 1896 marked the end of the short-lived movement of the Populist party. Having found a new method of protesting big bankers and unjust economic disparities, these agrarian leaders vied for changes in legislature regarding banking practices, railroad regulation, and the usage of the gold-based dollar. However, due to a lack of widespread support and the immersion of Populist ideas into the Democrats’ platform, the party collapsed, though not without making a name for itself. Populist rhetoric has become
The United States has been known through its history as having a collective expansionist movement hellbent on trying to secure the future of America. From forcibly expelling the native people, to planting an insurrectionist movement in another country. From the very conception of the United States, there has been a sense of patriotism and nationality that is above all over cultures and countries. A large factor that caused dissonance between Americans and Mexicans, was that the Mexican people still followed the faith of the Roman Catholic Church and its papal rule. Americans come from a deeply rooted history of conflict and chaos against the Catholic church as their religious origins are intertwined with the Protestant reformation. Coupled
During the 2016 United States Presidential election, many popular comparisons were being made of Donald Trump to Andrew Jackson through the lens of populist theory. Indeed, these comparisons seem appropriate considering Trump’s former campaign manager and chief advisor likened Trump to Andrew Jackson and defined Trump a populist. These comparisons, now prevalent in the American political zeitgeist, beg for historical analysis of their validity. Given that, a range of themes have been considered comparatively between three populist from three separate centuries in United States history: President Andrew Jackson, Louisiana Governor and Senator Huey P. Long, and President Donald J. Trump. The first of these themes, their personal and professional
Historians debated the description over the overwhelming mass movements. One side described uprising as threatening and dangerous which led them to be cautious of the populist movement. On the other hand, some believed that the uprising was a peaceful resistance to injustice. As John D. Hicks wrote, “the last phase of a long and perhaps a losing struggle- the struggle to save agricultural America from the devouring jaws of industrial America” (Brinkley, 452). The basis of Hicks’s argument is that farmers are realizing the harsh industrial growth having effect on their agricultural life and so want to reform the ways of the government. The Populist movement was a great rift towards the movement of political protest.
From 1870 to 1900, America was divided into two by western farmers and eastern labourers. By the mid-19th century, thousands of easterners migrated west. The western settlement soon covered 400 million acres of land. Due to this expansion, the two groups lived different lifestyles. However, western farmers and eastern labourers faced many economic problems and both were affected by the Populist Movement in unique aspects.
Six-hour workdays? Is this a joke..? If workers only worked six-hours a day they would be losing about a quarter of their pay. How would they be able to pay their bills every month? They wouldn't. Six-hour work days will never workout the way supporters of shorter workdays claim.