HST 102 1nd Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture II. Post Civil War America III. Engines of Changea. Transcontinental RailroadIV. Crash and Burna. Panic of 1873V. Explosions of Discontent a. Great Railroad Strike of 1877b. Great Upheaval of 1886 VI. Race, Nation, and Hard timesVII. Golden DaysVIII. Shaken and Stirred Outline of Current Lecture IX. The Tumultuous Gilded Age A. An era of contrasts and disruptionX. FarmlandXI. Citadels of Corruption a. Railroadsb. Cities XII. Hard rowXIII. The GrangeXIV.GreenbackersXV. The Farmers’ AllianceXVI. Women in the Populist Movement a. Mary Elizabeth LeaseXVII. Political Turn and SuccessXVIII. Co-OptedXIX. William Jennings Bryan and The FallCurrent LectureLecture Week of 1-22A Call to (F)Arms: The Populist ResponseThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- The Tumultuous Gilded Ageo An era of contrasts: Concentration of wealth Largesse and deprivation  Industrial revolution and economic depression o An era of disruption: Labor strikes Racial violence, political violence - Redemption in the south, moving out of indigenous people- Moving of troops when labor strikes occurred  Economic rollercoaster with a downward trend - Farmland o Farmland explodes in production as the western frontier sees migration o Between 1860 and 1890 farmers begin cultivating more than 421000000 new acres of land o Numbers of farmers in the US triples and population of the plains states explodes o Coupled with a land price boom and speculation - Citadels of Corruption o Farmers face two critical antagonists: Railroads- Individual farmers are easy targets for exploitation/extortion - Feel powerless in the face of big industries - Have to pay expensive amounts and had no way around it because railroads were a monopoly. There were no other means of transportation  Cities - America’s cities are growing and urban industries are expanding - Urban areas begin to absorb more and more of the population- Challenge to fundamental ideas about the identity and sources of strength (morally and economically) in American society - Seen as centers of vice, greed, and corruption - Hard row o Economic turmoil is disproportionately hard on farmers o High interest rates make for tenuous position o Rising debt and a plunge in agricultural prices  Wheat: 1870 $1.00/bushel – 1885 $0.80/bushel – 1890 $0.60 Corn: 1870 $0.45/bushel – 1890 $0.10-0.30/bushel o Land prices crumble by the 1890s when another found of financial disaster sets in o Drought and pests become more prevalent - The Grange o Farmers begin establishing their own organizations shortly after the Civil War to pool resources o Among the earliest is the “Patrons of Husbandry” aka the Grange o Building class consciousness and breaking down social isolation  Working sun up to sun down, little transportation – so they wanted to bring people together o Claim more than 1.5 mill members by the early 1870so Lobby for reforms to railroad practices, cooperative purchase of equipment o By 1880, membership dwindles to less than 100,000- Greenbackers o Another early movement crystallizes as the Greenback Party 1876-84o Primarily focuses on monetary policy  Issuing paper money as permanent legal tender Redemption of federal debt with paper money o Some social aspects Decrease public salaries Gov’t school systems Restrain power of the railroadso Run full nation ticket as third party  1876 about 1% of vote 1880 about 3.3% 1884 about 1.3% - people lost interest, less votes than the Prohibition Party- The Farmers’ Alliance o Building off the momentum of these earlier organization efforts… the National Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union originates in Texas 1870-80o Originally a booster group, it soon turns to economic activism and organization Large scale cooperatives Lobbying presence in politics  Innovative economic policy  Widespread educational programs o By 1890, 1.2 mill members nationwideo Racially segregated and strongly nativist (against immigration)o Avoid formal political action – third party campaigning, etc. o Focused mainly on monetary system and finance - Women in the Populist Movement o 1890, 250,000 women joined the Farmer’s Allianceo Drew upon the tradition of shared labors in farming householdso Serve as lecturers, educators, officeholders, within the organization o Populist movements of the era support suffrage, but not at the national level o Many more women continue to join through the next decade  Mary Elizabeth Lease – embraces prohibition, women’s rights and suffrage, mostfamous lecturer for this movement- The Political Turn o Farmers’ Alliance had relied upon lobbying and influence rather than an independent and political presenceo Frustrated by lack of action at the national level, various farmers’ groups hold a series of conferences in 1891-92o Culminates in the People’s Party Convention in Omaha – july 1892 o Demanding an expansion of federal role in economic life, with concerns about restrainto The Party nominates James Weaver for president in 1892 - 1892 Election o Weaver wins almost 10% of American populationo About 22 electoral votes - Political successo People’s party governors in CO, KS, and NDo Balance of power in several state legislatures o 5 senators, 10 representatives, 1500 state and county officials - Co-opted o Debate over whether the goal is to remain independent or to align with an existing partyo Worried about the disadvantages of independence – as a third party o “fusion” faction wins out and endorses democratic nominee for President, William Jennings Bryan o Breaks the peoples’ party apart - William Jennings Bryan o Young congressman from Nebraska o Accomplished and compelling orator o Barnstorms the country to rally support – instead of using surrogates o Wins over many populists with a diatribe at the democratic convention against the gold standard - The Fall o Within the populist movement dissolved, Bryan’s loss to William McKinley effectively ends the nation political presenceo Push by upper- and middle-class Americans to marginalize populists as a threat to economic and social order o Opposed by a variety of groups: North: bankers, business, immigrants, and upper class South: white supremacists, large scale farmerso But much of the