Goal 4.03: Describe the causes and effects of the financial difficulties that plagued the American farmer and trace the rise and decline of Populism

  1. Problems for Farmers
  2. Declining profits
  3. Great Plainsfarmers were producing a larger supply of grains
  4. Grain supply ↑ = Grain prices ↓
  5. Farmers were working more but earning ______
  6. Rising costs
  7. High tariffs + unionized factory workers = high prices on manufactured goods
  8. Banks were charging high interest on loans
  9. Railroads were charging higher fees for shipping grain to eastern markets
  10. Farmers were paying ______
  11. The money supply
  12. To fund the Civil War, US government had increased the money supply and now had 3 types of currency in circulation
  13. ______
  14. ______& ______coins
  15. Bank notes backed by government ______
  16. Supply of $↑ = Value of $↓ (______)
  17. Government tried to respond to inflation

a. Stopped printing greenbacks

b.Stopped minting silver coins

c.Started paying off government bonds to reduce number of bank notes in circulation

d.Response was too strong and reduced the money supply too greatly

e.Supply of $↓ = Value of $↑ = Prices ↓ (______)

1.Decrease in money supply meant loans were harder to get and interest rates were higher

2.Farmers were still getting LESS for their crops but now paying MORE for mortgages & other loans

3.Farmers believed that greedy ______had pressured government into reducing the money supply

4.Began to organize and campaign for government to resume printing greenbacks and/or minting silver coins

  1. Farmers’ Organizations
  2. The ______(The Patrons of Husbandry, founded in 1867)
  3. Designed to organize rural farmers
  4. Pressured state legislatures to regulate railroad & warehouse rates
  5. Encouraged farmers to join the ______Party, a new political party aimed at getting the government to print more paper money
  6. Created farmers’ ______
  7. Pooled farmers’ crops and held them off the market in order to limit supply and force up prices
  8. By working together, farmers could negotiate better shipping & warehousing rates
  9. Greenback Party failed to gain much popular support
  10. Cooperatives never grew large enough to be effective
  11. Many states did pass laws setting maximum rates for railroads, but in the case of ______v. ______(1896), theSupreme Court ruled that states could not regulate railroads because the railroads were involved in interstate commerce, which can only be regulated by federal law
  12. The Farmers’ Alliance
  13. Formed in 1877 in Texas, by 1890 had nearly 3 million members
  14. Like the Grange, tried to create cooperatives, but failed for many of the same reasons
  15. The ______(The People’s Party, founded in 1890)
  16. Western farmers decided that the desired reforms required a new political party
  17. Southern farmers opposed a third-party because it might weaken the Democratic Party
  18. Southern farmers proposed creation of government-ran warehouses called ______where farmers could store their surplus crops
  19. Also wanted government to provide low-interest loans to farmers
  20. Many Democratic politicians won elections in the South after promising to support this so-called Subtreasury Plan, but then didn’t keep their promises
  21. The ______Act of 1890
  22. Congress authorized the US Treasury to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver per month to put more money into circulation
  23. Didn’t do enough to ease deflation or help farmers
  24. The Populist Party’s ______Platform
  25. Called for unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 oz. of silver = 1 oz. of gold (this support of both silver & gold currency is called ______)
  26. Called for federal takeover of ______
  27. Called for a graduated income tax (make the rich pay more)
  28. Called for tighter government regulation of banking and industries
  29. Nominated James B. Weaver to run for President of the United States (he lost, but received a respectable number of votes)
  30. Panic of 1893
  31. 2 major railroads went into bankruptcy, triggering a collapse of the banks who had loaned them money
  32. Worst economic crisis US had experienced to that point (18% unemployment)
  33. Caused investors to cash in their government bonds for gold, draining the US gold reserve
  34. Congress responded by repealing the Sherman Silver Purchase Act to stop people from trading in their silver for gold
  35. Repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act split the Democratic Party
  36. ______: believed that US currency should be backed exclusively with gold
  37. ______: believed that coining unlimited silver would ease the economic crisis
  38. Election of 1896
  39. Populists wanted to nominate a candidate who supported silver, but Democrats created a dilemma for the Populists by nominating their own pro-silver candidate
  40. Faced with either supporting the Democratic candidate and giving up their 3rd party status or nominating their own candidate and splitting the pro-silver vote, the Populists chose to support the Democratic candidate, ______
  41. Only 36 when nominated for president
  42. Powerful speaker who won support with his pro-silver “______” speech
  43. Toured the country for weeks, giving hundreds of speeches
  44. Strongly supported in the West and South
  45. Republicans nominated William McKinley
  46. McKinley refused to travel and speak, opting instead to stay home in Ohio and conduct his “______”
  47. Won support of immigrants, urban workers, and big business
  48. McKinley won the election, became 25th President of US
  49. The Decline of Populism
  50. Discovery of gold in ______boosted US gold supply, stabilizing US currency & ending the silver debate
  51. Populist support of the Democratic candidate failed to create a distinction in the public’s mind between the Populists and the Democrats