The People's Party

Upon opening my new issue of "The Nation" last week, I was amused and delighted to find an article titled "Populists in the House". The article was about the Populist branch of the Democratic Party and "highlighted broader populist ferment among House Democrats". A new "Populist Caucus" has been formed in the United States House of Representatives and a primary focus of the caucus is to stop the Democrats from "pulling punches in fights over economic policy." Whereas, the Populist movement of the 1890s centered on government ownership of the railroads, the Populists of 2009 believe in government ownership of the banks. The Nation referred to the Populists as "latter-day William Jennings Bryans"(1). Bryan was the "head of a combined Democratic and Populist ticket"(2) in 1896.

The Nation article further proved to me the importance of the Populist movement of the 1890s, and 1896 in particular. Several comparisons can be made to the Populists of today and the Populists of the Gilded Age. For one, they are still fighting for the "middle class" and the farmer's who are hurting in these trying economic times. Two, they are opposed to "big business" and the interests of Wall Street. Third, the Populists must become a larger presence in Washington in order to accomplish their goals. As John Nichols of The Nation says, "The formation of the Populist Caucus is a healthy development, but it is not enough."(3)

One may wonder if the Populists of today could have been without the Populist movement of the

Gilded Age. A major political party should not ignore a large voting bloc, which seems to be at least what the Populists feel the other Democrats have done today, or else they would probably not have formed a separate faction within the party. The Gilded Age Populists of Kansas courted Black Americans who were ignored by and faced with the indifference of the Republican party (4). A core principle of the Populists has always been equality for all, even if it was a different story in practice.

I would argue that the Gilded Age was the point when the two major political parties of our nation began to become what they are today. Republicans moved away from Lincoln's support of Blacks, and the Populists who joined forces with the Democrats courted the Black vote. The fact that Republicans were saying things like "How shall we beat the coons and at the same time save the nigger vote?"(5) speaks volumes about the mindset of the Republicans and explains why Blacks moved over to the Populist side after decades of being Republicans. The party of Lincoln was no longer the party of Lincoln. Although the presence of Blacks in the Populist Party was short-lived, it foreshadowed where the Black Americans would place their political clout in the future.

Although Black Americans in Kansas agreed with the Populism politics, they disagreed with the Populist ideology. Through past experience, Blacks had learned to distrust poor whites. Their trust lay with the wealthy whites, the ones who owned corporations, because they were the ones who gave them jobs when the white labor unions were striking. Consequently, the Black Kansans of the Gilded Age did not like or agree with labor unions which were largely made up of poor whites. They believed in capitalism because in their eyes, the capitalist corporations were the ones who were giving Blacks jobs and helping to advance the race. (6)

However, when it came to advancing the race, the Populists also played a part. When the "Republicans seemed to no longer care about even the appearance of concern for the negro". The Populists stepped up. The "Pops" offered Blacks "recognition and hope for renewed stability."(7) The Populists were showing their concern for the plight of Blacks in Kansas and "the most important and dramatic indication of Populist concern came when Governor Lorenzo D. Lewelling sent state troops into Salinas to prevent the lynching of a Negro prisoner."(8)


"During the 1890s chaos reigned in Jayhawk politics." (9) The preceding statement is probably an accurate description of the political movement in Kansas, there was party switching, as I explained above and the economic crisis served to further aggravate political tensions in the Jayhawk state. The Kansas Populist Party was "formed to fight for the rights of all the laboring classes."(10) Frustrated with the moneyed upper classes and the politicians that were controlled by them, it became clear to the Populists that "farmers would have to elect farmers."(11)

The Populist Party, also call the People's Party enjoyed success with the "fusion" of Democratic candidates on the ticket. Due to the relative success of the Populist party in the 1890 election, "the Kansas Democrats hoped to achieve fusion with the People's party in the election of 1892"(12) Populists goals were achieved when Kansas elected it's first Populist governor in 1892, Governor Lorenzo D. Lewelling.

Although the Populist movement in Kansas "shook the foundation of politics", it was unfortunately "unable to fundamentally reshape older coalitions of voters for an extended period of time." "Never before or since, have the two races in the South come so close together politically."(13) Although the latter statement was made in 1968, it still rings true, the Black voters of the South vote for Democrats, while the whites vote for Republicans. The consequence of the Republican ideology was handed down in the last election; it is becoming a party of the South, not a national party because it does not address the issues of our very diverse nation. And it has not addressed the issues that face Black Americans since it was Lincoln's party.

Notes

1, 3. Nichols, John, "Populists in the House," The Nation, March 30,2009

2,9-13. Barton, Scott D., "Party Switching and Kansas Populism," Blackwell (1990): 453-467

4-8. Chafe, William H., "The Negro and Populism: A Kansas Case Study," Journal of Southern History (1968): 402-419

Photo of Governor Lewelling courtesy of the Kansas Historical Society.

Other photos accessed on Google image search.