The Leaven of Radicalism
The People's Party was mortally stricken by the events of 1896. Most of
the cohorts which had been led into the camp of Democracy were
thereafter beyond the control of their leaders; and even the remnant
that still called itself Populist was divided into two factions. In 1900
the radical group refused to endorse the Fusionists' nomination of Bryan
and ran an independent ticket headed by Wharton Barker of Pennsylvania
and that inveterate rebel, Ignatius Donnelly. This ticket, however,
received only 50,000 votes, nearly one-half of which came from Texas.
When the Democrats nominated Judge Alton B. Parker of New York in 1904,
the Populists formally dissolved the alliance with the Democracy and
nominated Thomas E. Watson of Georgia for President. By this defection
the Democrats may have lost something; but the Populists gained little.
Most of the radicals who deserted the Democracy at this time went over
to Roosevelt, the Republican candidate. In 1908 the Populist vote fell
to 29,000; in 1912 the party gave up the ghost in a thinly-attended
convention which neither made nominations of its own nor endorsed any
other candidate. In Congress the forces of Populism dwindled rapidly,
from the 27 members of 1897 to but 10 in 1899, and none at all in 1903.
The men who had been leaders in the heyday of Populism retired from
national prominence to mere local celebrity. Donnelly died in 1901,
leaving a picturesque legacy of friendships and animosities, of literary
controversy and radical political theory. Weaver remained with the
fusion Populists through the campaign of 1900; but by 1904 he had gone
over to the Democratic party. The erstwhile candidate for the presidency
was content to serve as mayor of the small town of Colfax, Iowa, where
he made his home until his death in 1912, respected by his neighbors and
forgotten by the world. Peffer, at the expiration of his term in the
Senate, ran an unsuccessful tilt for the governorship of Kansas on the
Prohibition ticket. In 1900 he returned to the comfort of the Republican
fold, to become an ardent supporter of McKinley and Roosevelt.
But the defection and death of Populist leaders, the collapse of the
party, and the disintegration of the alliances could not stay the
farmers' movement. It ebbed for a time, just as at the end of the
Granger period, but it was destined to rise again. The unprecedented
prosperity, especially among the farmers, which began with the closing
years of the nineteenth century and has continued with little reaction
down to the present has removed many causes for agrarian discontent; but
some of the old evils are left, and fresh grievances have come to the
front. Experience taught the farmer one lesson which he has never
forgotten: that whether prosperous or not, he can and must promote his
welfare by organization. So it is that, as one association or group of
associations declines, others arise. In some States, where the Grange
has survived or has been reintroduced, it is once more the leading organ
of the agricultural class. Elsewhere other organizations, sometimes
confined to a single State, sometimes transcending state lines, hold the
farmers' allegiance more or less firmly; and an attempt is now being
made to unite all of these associations in an American Federation of
Farmers.
Until recently these orders have devoted their energies principally to
promoting the social and intellectual welfare of the farmer and to
business coöperation, sometimes on a large scale. But, as soon as an
organization has drawn into its ranks a considerable proportion of the
farmers of a State, especially in the West, the temptation to use its
power in the field of politics is almost irresistible. At first,
political activity is usually confined to declarations in favor of
measures believed to be in the interests of the farmers as a class; but
from this it is only a short step to the support of candidates for
office who are expected to work for those measures; and thence the
gradation is easy to actual nominations by the order or by a farmers'
convention which it has called into being. With direct primaries in
operation in most of the Western States, these movements no longer
culminate in the formation of the third party but in ambitious efforts
to capture the dominant party in the State. Thus in Wisconsin the
president of the state union of the American Society of Equity, a
farmers' organization which has heretofore been mainly interested in
coöperative buying and selling, was recently put forward by a "Farmers
and Laborers Conference" as candidate for the nomination for governor on
the Republican ticket and had the active support of the official organ
of the society. In North Dakota, the Non-Partisan League, a farmers'
organization avowedly political in its purposes, captured the Republican
party a few years ago and now has complete control of the state
government. The attempt of the League to seize the reins in Minnesota
has been unsuccessful as yet, but Democratic and Republican managers are
very much alarmed at its growing power. The organized farmers are once
more a power in Western politics.
It is not, however, by votes cast and elections won or by the permanence
of parties and organizations that the political results of the agrarian
crusade are to be measured. The People's Party and its predecessors,
with the farmers' organizations which supported them, professed to put
measures before men and promulgated definite programs of legislation.
Many of the proposals in these programs which were ridiculed at the time
have long since passed beyond the stage of speculation and discussion.
Regulation of railroad charges by national and state government,
graduated income taxes, popular election of United States Senators, a
parcels post, postal savings banks, and rural free delivery of mail are
a few of these once visionary demands which have been satisfied by
Federal law and constitutional amendment. Anti-trust legislation has
been enacted to meet the demand for the curbing of monopolies; and the
Federal land bank system which has recently gone into operation is
practically the proposal of the Northwestern Alliance for government
loans to farmers, with the greenback feature eliminated. Even the demand
for greater volume and flexibility of currency has been met, though in
ways quite different from those proposed by the farmers. ¹
¹ In July, 1894, when the People's Party was growing rapidly, the editor
of the Review of Reviews declared: "Whether the Populist party is to
prove itself capable of amalgamating a great national political
organization or whether its work is to be done through a leavening of
the old parties to a more or less extent with its doctrines and ideas,
remains to be seen. At present its influence evidently is that of a
leavening ingredient." The inclusion of the income tax in the revenue
bill put through by the Democratic majority in Congress was described as
"a mighty manifestation of the working of the Populist leaven"; and it
was pointed out that "the Populist leaven in the direction of free
silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 is working yet more deeply and
ominously." The truth of the last assertion was demonstrated two years
later.
In general it may be said that the farmers' organizations and parties
stood for increased governmental activity; they scorned the economic and
political doctrine of laissez faire; they believed that the people's
governments could and should be used in many ways for promoting the
welfare of the people, for assuring social justice, and for restoring or
preserving economic as well as political equality. They were pioneers in
this field of social politics, but they did not work alone. Independent
reformers, either singly or in groups, labor organizations and parties,
and radicals everywhere coöperated with them. Both the old parties were
split into factions by this progressive movement; and in 1912 a
Progressive party appeared on the scene and leaped to second place in
its first election, only to vanish from the stage in 1916 when both the
old parties were believed to have become progressive.
The two most hopeful developments in American politics during recent
years have been the progressive movement, with its program of social
justice, and the growth of independent voting--both developments made
possible in large part by the agrarian crusade. Perhaps the most
significant contribution of the farmers' movement to American politics
has been the training of the agricultural population to independent
thought and action. No longer can a political party, regardless of its
platform and candidates, count on the farmer vote as a certainty. The
resolution of the Farmers' Alliance of Kansas "that we will no longer
divide on party lines and will only cast our votes for candidates of the
people, by the people, and for the people," was a declaration of a
political independence which the farmers throughout the West have
maintained and strengthened. Each successive revolt took additional
voters from the ranks of the old parties; and, once these ties were
severed, even though the wanderers might return, their allegiance could
be retained only by a due regard for their interests and desires.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.
The sources for the history of the agrarian crusade are to be found
largely in contemporary newspapers, periodical articles, and the
pamphlet proceedings of national and state organizations, which are too
numerous to permit of their being listed here. The issues of such
publications as the Tribune Almanac, the Annual Cyclopedia (1862-1903),
and Edward McPherson's Handbook of Politics (1868-1894) contain
platforms, election returns, and other useful material; and some of the
important documents for the Granger period are in volume X of the
Documentary History of American Industrial Society (1911), edited by
John R. Commons.
When each wave of the movement for agricultural organization was at its
crest, enterprising publishers seized the opportunity to bring out books
dealing with the troubles of the farmers, the proposed remedies, and the
origin and growth of the orders. These works, hastily compiled for sale
by agents, are partisan and unreliable, but they contain material not
elsewhere available, and they help the reader to appreciate the spirit
of the movement. Books of this sort for the Granger period include:
Edward W. Martin's (pseud. of J. D. McCabe) History of the Grange
Movement (1874), Jonathan Periam's The Groundswell (1874), Oliver H.
Kelley's Origin and Progress of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry
(1875), and Ezra S. Carr's The Patrons of Husbandry on the Pacific Coast
(1875). Similar works induced by the Alliance movement are: History of
the Farmers' Alliance, the Agricultural Wheel, etc., compiled and edited
by the St. Louis Journal of Agriculture (1890), Labor and Capital,
Containing an Account of the Various Organizations of Farmers, Planters,
and Mechanics (1891), edited by Emory A. Allen, W. Scott Morgan's
History of the Wheel and Alliance and the Impending Revolution (1891),
H. R. Chamberlain's The Farmers' Alliance (1891), The Farmers' Alliance
History and Agricultural Digest (1891), edited by N. A. Dunning, and
N. B. Ashby's The Riddle of the Sphinx (1890). Other contemporary books
dealing with the evils of which the farmers complained are: D. C.
Cloud's Monopolies and the People (1873), William A. Peffer's The
Farmer's Side (1891), James B. Weaver's A Call to Action (1891), Charles
H. Otken's The Ills of the South (1894), Henry D. Lloyd's Wealth against
Commonwealth (1894), and William H. Harvey's Coin's Financial School
(1894).
The nearest approach to a comprehensive account of the farmers' movement
is contained in Fred E. Haynes's Third Party Movements Since the Civil
War, with Special Reference to Iowa (1916). The first phase of the
subject is treated by Solon J. Buck in The Granger Movement (1913),
which contains an extensive bibliography. Frank L. McVey's The Populist
Movement (1896) is valuable principally for its bibliography of
contemporary material, especially newspapers and magazine articles. For
accounts of agrarian activity in the individual States, the investigator
turns to the many state histories without much satisfaction. Nor can he
find monographic studies for more than a few States. A. E. Paine's The
Granger Movement in Illinois (1904 University of Illinois Studies, vol.
I, No. 8) and Ellis B. Usher's The Greenback Movement of 1875-1884 and
Wisconsin's Part in It (1911) practically exhaust the list. Elizabeth N.
Barr's The Populist Uprising, in volume II of William E. Connelley's
Standard History of Kansas (1918), is a vivid and sympathetic but
uncritical narrative. Briefer articles have been written by Melvin J.
White, Populism in Louisiana during the Nineties, in the Mississippi
Valley Historical Review (June, 1918), and by Ernest D. Stewart, The
Populist Party in Indiana in the Indiana Magazine of History (December,
1918). Biographical material on the Populist leaders is also scant. For
Donnelly there is Everett W. Fish's Donnelliana (1892), a curious eulogy
supplemented by "excerpts from the wit, wisdom, poetry and eloquence" of
the versatile hero; and a life of General Weaver is soon to be issued by
the State Historical Society of Iowa. William J. Bryan's The First
Battle (1896) and numerous biographies of "the Commoner" treat of his
connection with the Populists and the campaign of 1896. Herbert Croly's
Marcus A. Hanna (1912) should also be consulted in this connection.
Several of the general histories of the United States since the Civil
War devote considerable space to various phases of the farmers'
movement. The best in this respect are Charles A. Beard's Contemporary
American History (1914) and Frederic L. Paxson's The New Nation (1915).
Harry Thurston Peck's Twenty Years of the Republic, 1885-1905 (1906)
contains an entertaining account of Populism and the campaign of 1896.
Pertinent chapters and useful bibliographies will also be found in the
following volumes of the American Nation: William A. Dunning's
Reconstruction, Political and Economic, 1865-1877 (1907), Edwin E.
Sparks's National Development, 1877-1885 (1907), and David R. Dewey's
National Problems, 1885-1897 (1907).
INDEX
A.
Adams, C. F., candidate for presidential nomination, 15.
Adams, D. W., Master of National Grange, 27.
Agricultural Wheel, 116-117; see also National Agricultural Wheel.
Aiken, D. W., on executive committee of National Grange, 27; quoted,
61-62.
Alabama, Grange relief sent to, 75.
Allen, Judge W. V., sent to United States Senate, 164-165, 184; quoted,
183.
Alliance movement, see Farmers' Alliance.
Altgeld, J. P., elected Governor of Illinois, 150.
American Bimetallic League, 170.
American Federation of Farmers, 196.
American Society of Equity, 197.
"American System of Finance," 80.
Anthony, Susan B., speaks at National party convention, 94.
Anti-Monopolist, Donnelly starts publication of, 41; activity, 86.
Anti-Monopoly Organization of the United States, convention at Chicago
(1884), 96; see also Anti-Monopoly party.
Anti-Monopoly party, 31; Donnelly as leader, 39, 41; antagonism toward
railroads, 50.
Arkansas, Agricultural Wheel originates in Prairie County, 116; Union
Labor party in, 127; fusion tickets (1896), 188.
B.
Banks and banking, see Finance.
Barker, Wharton, radical Populist candidate (1900), 194.
Barr, E. N., The Populist Uprising, cited, 134 (note).
"Battle of the Standards," campaign of 1896, 189.
Bland, R. P., Bryan and, 179; "Father of Free Silver," 181.
Brothers of Freedom, 116.
Brown, B. G., elected Governor of Missouri, 14; candidate for
presidential nomination, 16.
Bryan, W. J., at Democratic convention (1896), 177; life, 177-178;
interest in politics, 178; editor Omaha World-Herald, 179; in Congress,
179; personal appearance, 180; convention speech quoted, 180-181;
nomination, 181, 186; and People's Party, 186, 191; campaign, 189-190;
defeat, 190, 191.
Buchanan, James, and National Greenback party, 82, 127.
Butler, General B. F., and silver question, 90; presidential nomination,
96-97.
C.
California and Populist party, 151.
Cary, S. F., Independent nominee for Vice-President (1876), 85.
Chambers, B. J., nominated for Vice-President, 94.
Chase, Solon, on inflation, 90-91.
Chicago, Grange established in, 6; Independent meeting (1876), 85;
National party convention (1880), 93-94; meeting of Northwestern
Alliance (1881), 119; Democratic convention (1896), 175-177, 180-181.
Cincinnati, Liberal-Republican convention (1872), 14, 15; convention of
Citizens' Alliance and Knights of Labor (1891), 140.
Citizens' Alliance, 140.
Civil service, Liberal Republican platform on, 15; demand for reform of,
35.
Civil War, agriculture after, 19.
Clark, J. G., 151; People's Battle Hymn, 148.
Cleveland, Grover, and free silver, 169; Tillman and, 169, 176.
Cleveland, Independent party convention (1875), 82-83.
Colorado, Populist success (1892), 149; Republican in 1894, 168.
Colored Farmers' Alliance, 123.
Columbus (O.), Grange established in, 6; National Labor party convention
(1872), 80.
Congress, agricultural representation in, 24; specie-resumption act
(1875), 83, 94; Silver Purchase Act, 132, 159-160, 165; demonetizes
silver (1873), 156-157; Bland-Allison act, 158, 159, 160, 173.
Cooper, Peter, candidate for Presidency, 84-85.
Coöperation, 65 et seq.; coöperative stores, 66-68; "Rochdale plan,"
67-68, 71; Northwestern Alliance and, 119.
Corning, Cyrus, 134.
Corwin, E. S., John Marshall and the Constitution, cited, 46 (note).
Coxey, J. S., 170.
"Crime of '73," 156.
Curtin, A. G., and Liberal Republican party, 15.
Curtis, B. R., 51.
D.
Daniel, J. W., at Democratic convention (1896), 175.
Davis, Judge David, and Liberal Republican party, 15; candidate for
presidential nomination, 15-16; nominated by National Labor party
(1872), 80; considered as candidate by National Greenback party (1876),
84; Senator, 87-88.
Democratic party, after Civil War, 11-12; and Liberal Republicans,
16-17; makes common cause with new parties, 31; in Illinois (1873), 34;
attitude on currency question, 79; firm establishment of, 97-98, 125;
disappointment in, 126; victory in Nebraska (1890), 138; platform
(1892), 146-147; and Populist party, 149-150, 153; and free silver, 158,
175 et seq.; success in South Carolina (1894), 169; convention (1896),
175-177, 180-181.
Detroit, Greenback conference (1875), 86.
Diggs, Anna L., 134.
Dillaye, S. D., refuses presidential nomination, 93.
Donnelly, Ignatius, 18; Anti-Monopolist leader, 39, 41; life and
character, 39-42; Facts for the Grangers, 81; on inflation, 81-82;
temporary chairman of National Greenback convention (1876), 83; heads
Populist ticket in Minnesota (1892), 150; opponent of party fusion, 170,
184, 194; death (1901), 195.
E.
East, Grange movement retarded in, 26-27.
Elections, State elections (1877), 88 (note); of 1878, 90; of 1880,
93-95; of 1896, 172-191; of 1900, 194; of 1904, 194-195; of 1908, 195.
England, conflicting interests with United States, 161.
Europe, agricultural conditions in 1893, 99.
Evarts, W. M., 51.
F.
Fairchild, George T., quoted, 106.
Farmers' Alliance, 111 et seq.; bibliography, 204.
Farmers' Alliance of Kansas, resolution, 200-201.
"Farmers and Laborers Conference" makes nomination for Governor in
Wisconsin, 197.
Farmers' and Laborers' Union of America, 117, 122.
Farmers' clubs, organization of, 29-30.
Farmers' Declaration of Independence, 33-34.
Farmers' Fourth of July (1873), 33.
Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, 123.
Farmers' party, 31.
Farmers' Union of Louisiana, 115.
Fenton, R. E., and Liberal Republican party, 15.
Field, General J. G., candidate for Vice-President, 145, 147.
Finance, panic of 1873, 21, 81; farm loan banks, 21; demand for currency
reform, 35; currency inflation and Greenback movement, 77 et seq., 110;
"American System of Finance," 80; panic of 1893, 104; mortgages,
105-107; press comment on existing system, 108-109; Southern Alliance
report on monetary system (1889), 130-131; Northwestern Alliance
proposals, 131; monetary planks in Populist platform (1892), 143;
Federal land bank system, 199; see also Gold standard, Prices, Silver.
Flagg, W. C., president of Illinois State Farmers' Association, 36.
Florida, Alliance forms Democratic platform in (1890), 133; election of
1896, 188-189.
Fredonia (N. Y.), Grange established in, 6.
Free Trade League, leaders join Liberal Republicans, 14.
G.
George, Henry, 127.
George, Milton, founder of National Farmers' Alliance, 118.
Georgia, Alliance forms Democratic platform in (1890), 133.
Godkin, E. L., 14, 19.
Gold standard, party platforms on, 146-147; Congress authorizes, 156; in
Republican platform (1896), 174-175.
Grange movement, inception, 1 et seq.; at flood tide, 25 et seq.; and
railroad regulation, 43 et seq.; collapse, 60 et seq.; social and
intellectual stimulus from, 71-76; ritual, 73-74; bibliography, 203-204;
see also National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry.
Grant, U. S., and spoils, 12; nomination (1872), 16.
Greeley, Horace, joins Liberal Republicans, 15; nomination for President
(1872), 16, 80; campaign, 16-17; Donnelly supports, 41.
Greenback Clubs, 86, 93.
Greenback Labor party, reform parties merged with, 35; National party
called, 89; decline, 96, 127; financial demands, 155; see also National
party, National Greenback party.
Greenback movement, 77 et seq.; State elections (1877), 88 (note).
Gresham, Judge W. Q., Populists consider nomination of, 145.
Grosh, Rev. A. B., Grange founder, 4.
H.
Hall, Carrie, niece of Kelley, 3.
Hallowell, Colonel J. R., Simpson and, 136, 137.
Hanna, M. A., 172-174.
Harrisburg (Penn.), Grange established at, 6.
Harvey, W. H., Coin's Financial School, 160-161.
Hayes, R. B., vetoes Bland-Allison bill, 158.
Hill, D. B., defends gold plank at Republican convention, 176.
Hoar, E. R., 51.
Hobart, G. A., nominated for Vice-President, 175.
I.
Idaho, Populist success in (1892), 149; Republican in 1894, 168.
Illinois, independent farmers' organizations, 30; political action of
farmers in, 31-32; campaign of 1873 in, 34; railroad regulation, 45,
47-49, 52, 55; Grange plans implement factory in, 70; Greenback
movement, 81, 85, 87; coöperative creameries, 119; election of 1892,
150.
Immigration, restriction favored by Populist party, 144; Republicans
favor restriction, 147.
Independent party, 31, 133; platform, 83-84; campaign (1876), 85; see
also National Greenback party.
Independent Reform party in Illinois, 87.
Indiana, Grange plans implement factory, 70; Greenback movement, 81-82,
85, 87; drought (1895), 105; election of 1890, 138.
Indianapolis, Greenback conference, 82; Independent party nominating
convention, 83.
Indianapolis Star, 86.
Industrial Age, Noonan's, 86.
Industrial League of the United States, 164.
Industrial party, 133.
International Monetary Conference of Paris, 156.
Interstate Commerce Commission, Granger laws pave way for, 56.
Iowa, Kelley in, 2; Grange organization, 25, 30; railroad regulation,
45, 47, 50-51, 53; senate resolutions regarding lobbyists for railroads,
53-54; Grange plans implement factory in, 70; Greenback movement in, 87;
Populist party in, 150; election of 1896, 191.
Ireland, W. M., Grange founder, 4.
J.
Johnson, Andrew, authorizes investigating trip to Southern States, 1.
Jones, J. K., at Democratic convention (1896), 177.
K.
Kansas, agricultural clubs of political complexion, 30; Grange plans
implement factory, 70; Greenback movement, 87; mortgaged land, 106;
Union Labor party, 127; political revolt and social upheaval (1890),
134-137, 139; Populist success, 149; storm-center in national politics
(1893), 165-166; Republican in 1894, 168; Farmers' Alliance of, 200-201.
Kansas Farmer, Peffer editor of, 140.
Kearney, Dennis, at National party convention (1880), 94.
Kelley, O. H., investigation in South, 1, 2; life and character, 1-3;
founds Grange, 3-4; Grange Secretary, 4, 27; organizes Grange, 5-10;
quoted, 65.
Kentucky, Grange plans implement factory, 70; delegates attend meeting
of Agricultural Wheel (1886), 117; fusion of parties (1896), 188;
McKinley carries, 191.
Kirkwood, S. J., 92.
Knights of Labor, 127, 140.
Kyle, Rev. J. H., elected to Senate, 138-139; presidential possibility,
145.
L.
Lampasas (Tex.), farmers' alliance organized, 112.
Land, alien ownership opposed, 143; Democratic demands (1892), 147.
Lease, C. L., husband of Mary E., 135.
Lease, Mary Elizabeth, 134, 167; life and character, 135; quoted,
135-136; in campaign of 1892, 147, 151.
Liberal Reform party, Taylor and, 38.
Liberal Republican party, 14-18; in Missouri, 31.
Louisiana, Grange relief sent to, 75; Farmers' Union, 115; press comment
on Populist campaign, 148-149; fusion of parties (1896), 188.
M.
McDowell, F. M., Grange founder, 4.
McKinley, William, candidate for Presidency (1896), 173-175; campaign,
189; election, 190-191; Peffer supports, 195.
Macune, C. W., and Texas Alliance, 115; president of National Farmers'
Alliance, 115-116; quoted, 128-129; chairman of monetary committee, 130.
Manufacturers, farmers' relations with, 64-65, 71.
Manufacturing, Grange activities, 68-70.
Martin, John, and silver, 168.
Meridian (Miss.), joint conference of agricultural orders at, 117.
Michigan, Greenback movement in, 87; drought (1895), 105; election of
1890, 138.
Middlemen, farmers' relations with, 63-64, 71.
Minnesota, Kelley in, 2, 6; Grange movement in, 8-9, 25, 30; railroad
regulation, 45, 46-47, 49-50, 55; Alliance grain elevators in, 119;
election of 1890, 138; Populist party in, 150; press comment on Populist
party, 152; election of 1896, 191; Non-Partisan League in, 198.
Minnesota State Alliance, political aims, 120.
Mississippi, Grange organization, 25.
Missouri, Democracy in, 31; Liberal Republican party in, 31; Grange
plans implement factory, 70; Grange relief sent to, 75; Union Labor
party in, 127; Populist party in, 150; fusion of parties (1896), 188.
Murdock, Victor, 136.
N.
Nation quoted, 16.
National Agricultural Wheel, 117.
National Farmers' Alliance, 118; resolutions (1887), 121; see also
Northwestern Alliance.
National Farmers' Alliance and Coöperative Union of America, 115.
National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, 122.
National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, organization, 4; motto, 4;
"Declaration of Purposes of the National Grange," 28; objections to, 29;
farmers' attitude toward, 62; see also Grange movement.
National Greenback party, 82; see also Greenback Labor party.
National Labor party, 80.
National Labor Union, 79, 80.
National party, name adopted at Toledo convention, 89; campaign of 1880,
93-95; in later elections, 96-97; convention at Indianapolis (1884),
96-97; see also Greenback Labor party.
Nebraska, election of 1890, 137-138; Populist, 150; election of 1894,
168.
Negroes, excluded from Farmers' Alliance, 113, 122; separate lodges for,
117 (note); Colored Farmers' Alliance, 123.
Nevada, Populist success in, 149; election of 1894, 168.
Newton (Iowa), Grange established at, 8.
Non-Partisan League, 198.
North Carolina, Alliance forms Democratic platform (1890), 133; fusion
of parties (1896), 188.
North Dakota, Alliance grain elevators in, 119; Populist success in,
149; Republican in 1894, 168; election of 1896, 191; Non-Partisan
League, 198.
Northwestern Alliance, foundation, 118; platform, 119, 131; meets with
Southern Alliance, 122; decline, 124; quotation from speech at meeting,
126; see also National Farmers' Alliance.
Norton, S. F., at Populist convention (1896), 186.
O.
Ocala (Fla.), meeting of Southern Alliance at (1890), 123.
O'Conor, Charles, 51.
Ohio, drought in (1895), 105.
"Ohio idea," 155.
Oklahoma, Weaver and opening of, 93.
Omaha, Populist party organized at, 142; Bryan at Democratic convention
(1888), 178.
Oregon, and Populist party, 151; election of 1896, 191.
P.
Panics, see Finance.
Parker, Judge A. B., candidate for Presidency, 194.
Patrons of Husbandry, see Grange movement, National Grange of the
Patrons of Husbandry.
Peffer, W. A., 134, 184; Senator from Kansas, 139, 168, 170; life,
139-140; Prohibition candidate for Governor of Kansas, 195; becomes
Republican, 195.
Pendleton, G. H., candidate for Presidency (1868), 155.
Pennsylvania, Greenback party in, 87.
Pensacola Address, 149.
People's Independent party in Nebraska, 137.
People's Party, 125 et seq.; adopts Alliance platform, 129; decline of,
191-193; see also Populist party.
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, failure, 104.
Politics, agricultural clubs in, 30-31; Alliances in, 119-121, 128,
133-134; see also names of parties.
Pomeroy, M. M., and Greenback Clubs, 86; Brickdust Sketches, 86; Brick
Pomeroy's Democrat, 86; Hot Drops, 86; Meat for Men, 86; quoted, 90;
radical leader, 93.
Poolville (Tex.), non-partisan alliance organized, 112.
Populist party, organized (1892), 142; platform, 142-144; manifesto Feb.
22, 1895, 154; relations to silver question, 162-163; contest with
Republicans in Kansas Legislature, 165-168; and Democrats, 188; decline,
195; bibliography, 204-205; see also People's Party.
Prices, decline after Civil War, 19; (1883-89), 102; (1891-92), 103-104;
rise as result of McKinley Tariff, 133-134; and silver standard, 162.
Producers' Convention in Illinois, 47.
Progressive party, 200.
R.
Railroads, and the farmer, 22-23; government aid, 23; legislative
reforms in Middle West, 32, 35; state regulation, 43 et seq.;
distribution of favors, 53; "Granger" laws repealed, 55-56; National
Alliance demands state regulation, 120, 121; government ownership,
129-130, 143; regulation accomplished, 198.
Ramsey, Alexander, governor of Minnesota, 39, 40.
Reconstruction in South, 12-13.
Referendum favored by Populist party, 144.
Reform party, 31.
Republican party, in control in North, 11-12; dissatisfaction with, 12,
14, 126, 134, 153; Liberal Republican movement, 14 et seq.; nominates
Grant (1872), 16; supports new party in Missouri, 31; in Illinois
(1873), 34; attitude on currency question, 79; well established, 97-98,
125; in 1890, 137-138; platform (1892), 147; Populists seek control in
South, 148-149; election of 1892, 150; Weaver on, 151-152; and free
silver, 158; in Kansas (1893), 165-167; success in West (1894), 168;
convention at St. Louis (1896), 172-175; Hanna and, 173-174; gold
standard, 174; campaign of 1896, 189.
Resumption Act, see Finance.
Review of Reviews on Populist party, 199 (note).
Robertson, Colonel D. A., and Grange organization, 8.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 195.
S.
St. Louis, seventh annual session of National Grange at, 28; Greenback
convention (1880), 93; joint meeting of agricultural alliances (1889),
122, 129; Republican convention (1896), 172; Populist convention (1896),
182.
St. Paul, North Star Grange established at, 8.
Saunders, William, Grange founder, 4, 27.
Schurz, Carl, and Liberal-Republican movement, 14; and civil service
reform, 15; and radical movements, 19.
Sewall, Arthur, candidate for Vice-President, 185, 188.
Shankland, E. R., of Iowa, 27.
Sherman, John, Secretary of Treasury, 159 (note).
Silver, platform of National party on coinage of, 89, 90; agrarian
demand for free, 110, 120, 121, 132; People's Party platform and free,
129; Silver Purchase Act, 132, 159-160, 165; party platforms on,
146-147; as issue, 154 et seq.; Bland-Allison act, 158, 159, 160, 173;
free coinage and the parties (1895), 169; Bryan and, 179, 180-181.
Simpson, "Sockless" Jerry, 134, 136-137, 167.
Sloan, A. S., of Wisconsin, 18.
South, Kelley's trip to, 1, 2-3; reconstruction, 12-13; opposition to
Grange movement, 26; development of farmers' alliances in, 112-117;
Populist campaign in, 147, 148-149; elections of 1894, 168; Populists
and Republicans in, 170; Democratic (1896), 191.
South Carolina, Grange organization, 25; Grange relief sent to, 75;
Alliance forms Democratic platform (1890), 133; Democratic in 1894, 169.
South Dakota, election of 1890, 138; Independent party, 138; Populist
party in, 150.
Southern Alliance, decline of, 123-124; in politics, 128; see also
Farmers' and Laborers' Union of America, National Farmers' Alliance and
Coöperative Union of America, National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial
Union, Texas Alliance.
Sovereign, J. R., in Coin's Financial School, 161.
Spectator (London), quotation from, 99.
Streeter, A. J., Union Labor candidate for President, 127, 128.
Supreme Court, Dartmouth College case, 46; and railroad laws, 54;
"Granger cases," 56-57; Munn vs. Illinois, 57; Olcott vs. The
Supervisors, cited, 58 (note); and Minnesota rate regulation, 59.
T.
Tariff, Liberal-Republican party on, 15; hardship for farmers, 20;
demand for reform, 35, 132; McKinley, 134.
Taxation, issue of People's Party, 129; graduated income tax, 198.
Taylor, W. R., Governor of Wisconsin, 36-38.
Teller, of Colorado, leaves Republican convention, 174-175.
Tennessee, delegates attend meeting of Agricultural Wheel (1886),
116-117; election of 1896, 188.
Texas, Union Labor party in, 127; election of 1896, 189.
Texas Alliance, 112-115.
Thompson, J. R., Grange founder, 4.
Tilden, S. J., 88.
Tillman, Benjamin, and Cleveland, 169, 176.
Trimble, Rev. John, Grange founder, 4.
Trumbull, Lyman, candidate for Presidential nomination, 16; and radical
movements, 19; Bryan and, 178.
Toledo (O.). conference organizes National party, 88-90.
Tribune, Chicago, on Buchanan, 82.
Trusts, anti-trust legislation, 199.
V.
Union Labor party, 127.
Union Pacific Railroad, National Alliance and, 121.
United States Pomological Society, Grange interest aroused at meeting
of, 4.
V.
Vale, J. G., of Iowa, 36.
W.
Waite, Chief Justice M. R., lays down principles for railroad cases, 57.
Washburn, E. B., 40.
Washburn, W. D., 40.
Washington, Populist party in, 151.
Watson, T. E., Populist candidate for Vice-President, 185, 188;
nominated for President, 194.
Wealth, increase in forty years (1890), 101.
Weaver, General J. B., life and character, 91-93; Presidential
nomination, 94; presides over Greenback convention, 96-97; Populist
candidate for President (1892), 145-146, 147, 151; on Republican party,
151-152; seeks party fusion, 170; on nomination of Bryan, 186; goes over
to Democratic party, 195.
Wells, D. A., 14.
West Virginia, election of 1896, 191.
White, S. M., at Democratic convention (1896), 175.
Wisconsin, railroad regulation, 45, 50-51; Constitution on corporation
laws, 46; Potter law, 51, 55; Grange plans implement factory, 70;
currency question in, 88 (note); political activity of farmers'
organizations, 197-198.
Women, admitted to Grange, 3, 73; life on farm, 72; suffrage favored by
National party, 94; admitted to Alliance, 113.
Wyoming, Republican in 1894, 168.
The Chronicles of America Series
1. The Red Man's Continent
by Ellsworth Huntington
2. The Spanish Conquerors
by Irving Berdine Richman
3. Elizabethan Sea-Dogs
by William Charles Henry Wood
4. The Crusaders of New France
by William Bennett Munro
5. Pioneers of the Old South
by Mary Johnson
6. The Fathers of New England
by Charles McLean Andrews
7. Dutch and English on the Hudson
by Maud Wilder Goodwin
8. The Quaker Colonies
by Sydney George Fisher
9. Colonial Folkways
by Charles McLean Andrews
10. The Conquest of New France
by George McKinnon Wrong
11. The Eve of the Revolution
by Carl Lotus Becker
12. Washington and His Comrades in Arms
by George McKinnon Wrong
13. The Fathers of the Constitution
by Max Farrand
14. Washington and His Colleagues
by Henry Jones Ford
15. Jefferson and his Colleagues
by Allen Johnson
16. John Marshall and the Constitution
by Edward Samuel Corwin
17. The Fight for a Free Sea
by Ralph Delahaye Paine
18. Pioneers of the Old Southwest
by Constance Lindsay Skinner
19. The Old Northwest
by Frederic Austin Ogg
20. The Reign of Andrew Jackson
by Frederic Austin Ogg
21. The Paths of Inland Commerce
by Archer Butler Hulbert
22. Adventurers of Oregon
by Constance Lindsay Skinner
23. The Spanish Borderlands
by Herbert Eugene Bolton
24. Texas and the Mexican War
by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson
25. The Forty-Niners
by Stewart Edward White
26. The Passing of the Frontier
by Emerson Hough
27. The Cotton Kingdom
by William E. Dodd
28. The Anti-Slavery Crusade
by Jesse Macy
29. Abraham Lincoln and the Union
by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson
30. The Day of the Confederacy
by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson
31. Captains of the Civil War
by William Charles Henry Wood
32. The Sequel of Appomattox
by Walter Lynwood Fleming
33. The American Spirit in Education
by Edwin E. Slosson
34. The American Spirit in Literature
by Bliss Perry
35. Our Foreigners
by Samuel Peter Orth
36. The Old Merchant Marine
by Ralph Delahaye Paine
37. The Age of Invention
by Holland Thompson
38. The Railroad Builders
by John Moody
39. The Age of Big Business
by Burton Jesse Hendrick
40. The Armies of Labor
by Samuel Peter Orth
41. The Masters of Capital
by John Moody
42. The New South
by Holland Thompson
43. The Boss and the Machine
by Samuel Peter Orth
44. The Cleveland Era
by Henry Jones Ford
45. The Agrarian Crusade
by Solon Justus Buck
46. The Path of Empire
by Carl Russell Fish
47. Theodore Roosevelt and His Times
by Harold Howland
48. Woodrow Wilson and the World War
by Charles Seymour
49. The Canadian Dominion
by Oscar D. Skelton
50. The Hispanic Nations of the New World
by William R. Shepherd
Transcriber's Notes
Introduction
Welcome to Project Gutenberg's edition of The Agrarian Crusade by Solon
Justus Buck. This book is part of the Chronicles of America series
produced by Yale University.
The footnotes have been produced using the Project Gutenberg™ standard.
Footnotes follow the paragraph in which they were mentioned. Footnotes
have been set in smaller print and have larger margins than regular
text.
Our policy in displaying footnotes may cause them to appear on the page
following the one where the footnote appears in the paper book. We have
therefore linked Index entries which refer to a footnote (denoted by
note) to the footnote itself, and not the page number.
Detailed notes describe problems or issues in transcribing a specific
portion of the text. Emendations are listed, and described, in the
Detailed Notes, as well as other issues in transcribing the text.
Detailed Notes Section:
Cooperation vs. Coöperation:
On Page 26, Page 113, and Page 119, cooperation is split between two
lines for spacing. In those three instances where hyphenation was called
for, the umlat was not used in the book. When coöperation was not split
between two lines for spacing, the book spelled the word with the umlat.
There are eighteen occurrences of coöperation. There were also eighteen
occurrences of coöperative, all which used the umlat. Coöperate,
coöperated, and coöperating were also used with the umlat. Our
assumption is that the umlat was omitted when coöperation was hyphenated
for spacing, but in transcribing the word, the hyphen is omitted and the
umlat should be restored. We have emended two cases in the index where
the umlat was not used. Therefore, we have consistently spelled all
variations of coöperate throughout the book, including the index, and
furthermore claim that we did not emend the text.
Chapter 9:
On Page 128, non-political is hyphenated and split between two lines.
Later on the page, non-political is hyphenated in the middle of a line.
There is one other use of non-political, on page 43, used with a hyphen.
We retained the hyphen in transcribing the quote: Let the Alliance be a
business organization for business purposes, and as such, necessarily
secret, and as secret, necessarily non-political.
On Page 132, log-rolling is hyphenated and split between two lines. On
Page 159, logrolling is spelled without the hyphen. There are no other
occurrences of the word. We removed the hyphen in transcribing the
clause: By the familiar practice of "logrolling".
Chapter 10:
On Page 143, sub-treasury is hyphenated and split between two lines.
There are four occurrences of sub-treasury in the book, on pages 130-132
of Chapter 8. There are no occurrences of sub-treasury spelled without
the hyphen. We have transcribed sub-treasury with the hyphen in the
clause: with the sub-treasury system of loans.
Chapter 11:
On Page 165, storm-center is hyphenated and split between two lines.
There are no other occurrences of the word in the book. In the index, on
page 211, storm-center is hyphenated in the middle of the line. Because
of this usage in the index, we retained the hyphen in the clause: Kansas
became a storm-center ...