Objectives For Today Understand Inflation and Deflation Recognize

Objectives For Today • Understand Inflation and Deflation • Recognize why Farmers wanted more of a say in the Political System of Gilded Age America. • Describe the reasons why Industrialists wanted the Gold Standard and Farmers wanted the free coinage of Silver.

Academic Terms: • • Inflation Deflation Populism Cooperatives

What is Populism? • Movement to increase farmers’ political power and push for legislation in their interest.

Deflation and Farmers • Farmers had to borrow $$$ • Interest rates began to rise, which made mortgages more expensive • Low prices = crops sold for less • Even though most farmers were losing money, they still had to pay the same high mortgages every month!

Deflation • • The Price of goods drops Less money is needed to buy goods (Bread) The value of the dollar goes up A decrease in the cost of things that are necessary for humans to live and enjoy life, such as bread, butter, milk, cheese, coffee, oil, shelter, clothing, medical services, chicken, cotton, electronics, etc • An increase in the value of money so that it takes less dollars to buy things.

Inflation • • Price of Goods goes Up More Money needed for things (Bread) The Value of the Dollar goes Down An increase in the cost of things that are necessary for humans to live and enjoy life, such as bread, butter, milk, cheese, coffee, oil, shelter, clothing, medical services, chicken, cotton, electronics, etc • a decrease in the value of money so that it takes more dollars to buy things.

Grange • Oliver H. Kelley • Patrons of Husbandry (1867) • Recession caused numbers to soar (800, 000+) • Cooperatives organizations that wanted to increase price/lower cost (pooled farmers crops; eliminated competition) • Wabash v. Illinois – states could not regulate across state lines.

Farmers’ Alliance • • 1890: 1. 5 – 3 million Charles W. Macune Exchanges large cooperatives Not very successful

Subtreasury Plan • Macune wanted southern democrats to support the Alliance • Warehouses to store crops (force prices up) • Low-interests loans • Free coinage of silver • Tighter RR Regulations • Election of Senators by voters

People’s Party • Known as Populist • Nominated candidates to run for Congress and state legislatures • Southern leaders of the Alliance pushed for support of democrats through a list of demands for votes

The Populist party built its platform around the following issues: • • An increased circulation of money The unlimited coining of silver A progressive income tax Gov’t ownership of communications and transportation systems

The Populists also supported the 8 -hour workday and opposed the use of Pinkertons as strikebreakers. They sought to unite African Americans and white farmers, pointing out that the poor had a common cause no matter what color they were.

Election of 1896 William Jennings Bryan • 36 • Democrat • Supported by Populist • Dynamic Speaker • Energetic Campaign (600 speeches in 14 days) • • William Mc. Kinley Republican “Full Dinner Pail” Supported by urban workers and immigrants 25 th President

The “Cross of Gold” Speech • At the Democratic convention in Chicago, Bryan gave a powerful speech in which he used images from the Bible in speaking out against the gold standard. • The stunning speech, known as the Cross of Gold speech, became one of the most famous in U. S. history.

1896 Political Cartoon

• As expected, Bryan carried the West and South, where most farmers lived. • But he failed to win any of the industrial Midwestern and Northern states, where most of the population of the nation lived, losing the election • Despite its wide appeal, the populist movement failed to bridge the gap between the nation’s cities and farms. • Never again would farm votes determine the winner of a presidential election.