The Populist Protest: The Struggles the Populists Endured for Their Individual Freedom
Because of the numbers of monopolies, the prices of cotton and grain fell so low and even the crop lien system, a system of which farmers obtained from local country stores the seed and equipment they needed in exchange for claims against their crops, seemed to be failing. The farmers knew that the loss of liberty went against the Jeffersonian tradition of individual freedom and of equality of opportunity when the list of debts grew longer. The populists thought that they must organize, both economically and politically, and they met once or twice a month.
However, as Burns states, the key to Alliance power was not organization, but leadership, one who will teach the people about the “complex political and economic issues of the day,” both national and local issues. The leaders were called “lecturers”, and the first state lecturer was William Lamb. He wanted a Knight of Labor boycott and although sub alliances gave food and money to striking railroad workers, the strike still collapsed. Charles Macune, another leader, who studied law and medicine as well as being a skillful writer, proposed a compromise.
He said that if the radicals would tone down their drive toward partisan politics, he would start an expansion that was “geographic and functional”, as Burns mentions. A national network of state Alliances would market cotton and buy supplies and farm equipment so they could achieve higher, more stable prices. The farmers accepted this strategy. He became the first president of the National Farmers Alliance and Cooperative Union. The Alliances were steadily forming around the country but mostly in Kansas. Soon, however, leaders concluded that education and cooperation were not enough and that electoral political action was necessary as well.
Burns points out that the people inspired Alliance leaders in Kansas for state action, and they called for a state convention to choose “statewide candidates and adopt the first Peoples Party platform.” Some women leaders were more active then the men. For example, Annie Diggs was an extraordinary speaker who worked with Alliance and wrote about suffrage and temperance. Also, Mary Lease was the first woman lawyer in Kansas and began a career as a speaker for Irish nationalism, temperance, woman’s suffrage, union labor, and the Alliance. With such hard work of men and women, the populists carried 96 of the 125 seats in the states lower house. Even though the Republicans still controlled the Senate and the state administration, it felt like a sensational victory.
Burns states that when the new legislature came together, both the Populists and the Republicans claimed a majority in the House. They called up the militia, organized an army, and bloodshed occurred. Finally, the populists agreed to let the Republicans rule on the issue. In the South, they encountered race problems; leaders such as Watson called to overthrow the plutocracy that had used race hatred, and to champion political and some economic equality for blacks. As the presidential election year approached, Alliance leaders were concluding that a national Peoples Party was needed. Burns concludes that on July 4, 1892, the national founding convention of the Peoples Party was introduced. He explains how the idea of liberty had always been behind the Alliance and that the hard work of the populists were very valuable in America.
