Chapter 13 Section 4: Populism By: Dalton, Chris, & Patrick

What was the populist platform? ● Populism-was a movement to increase farmers' political power and to work for legislation in their interest. ● Farmers joined the populist movement because they were in the midst of an economic crisis. ● The goal was to have farmers be able to make political decisions to solve their economic problems.

Farmers alliance

The Money Supply ● Farmers through adjusting the money supply would solve their economic problems. ● During the Civil War, the federal government expanded its money supply by issuing millions of dollars in greenbacks. ● Greenbacks are paper currency that could could not be exchanged for gold or silver coins. ● The increase in money without an increase in goods for sale caused inflation.

Who was William Jennings Bryan? ● William Jennings Bryan was a former member of Congress from Nebraska. ● He was only 36 years old when the Democrats and the Populists nominated him for president. ● He was a powerful speaker and won the Democratic nomination by delivering an electrifying address in defense of silver-one of the most famous in American political history.

William Jennings Bryan

What was the Grange? ● The Grange was the first national farm organization, also called the Patrons of Husbandry. ● The Grange was founded by Oliver H. Kelley in 1867 in order to keep farmers in touch with each other through meetings because they were so isolated. ● Farmers would meet largely for social and educational purposes.

Oliver H. Kelley

Farmers' Alliance ● As the Grange began to fall apart, a new organization, known as the Farmers' Alliance, began to form. ● By 1890, the alliance had between 1.5 and 3 million members, with strong support in the South and the Great Plains. ● The goal of the Alliance was to organize very large cooperatives that would be big enough to force farm prices up and be able to make loans to farmers at low interest rates.

What are cooperatives? ● Cooperatives- marketing organizations that try to increase prices and lower costs for their members. ● Cooperatives were formed by Grangers with hopes of regulating railroad and warehouse rates during a recession. ● Cooperatives pooled farmers' crops and held them off the market in order to force up prices.

Production and Prices of Corn

The Essential Question: What is populism and how did it affect the United States? ● Populism was a group movement of farmers hoping to gain more political power in order to have a bigger say in issues affecting their business. ● The movement was started in an economic recession, so the motive of the movement was basically to make money.