American Schism by Seth David Radwell

Author:Seth David Radwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626348622
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Published: 2021-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

In their alliance, they had found something new. That something may be described as individual self-respect and collective self-confidence, or what some would call “class consciousness” . . . a growing political sensibility, one free of deference and ridicule . . . it clearly represents a seminal kind of democratic instinct; it was this instinct that emerged in the alliance.10

By instilling hope in hundreds of thousands of people, the populism of the Farmers’ Alliance was about empowerment, about millions of farmers gaining agency in the political process.

Because neither the Democratic nor Republican Parties were advancing their interests, the Farmers’ Alliance leaders, in concert with an antimonopoly group called the Greenbacks, established a fully-fledged third political party called the People’s Party or the Populist Party.

This new party vastly extended the reach of the bottom-up populist movement. Its platform not only advocated for the interests of workers and farmers but called on the federal government to take a much more active role in reining in the abuses associated with the increasing concentration of power in the hands of industrial America and the wealthy elite. Specifically, the party platform included the advancement of collective bargaining, the creation of federally controlled warehouses to assist farmers, the federal regulation of railroad tariffs, and other leveling policies specifically designed to counter the influence of powerful corporate financial interests. At the party’s Omaha convention in 1892, Populist leaders characterized their platform as a Second Declaration of Independence.

Despite its broad-based appeal, the Populist Party struggled to field viable national candidates. As a result, the party coalesced around the emerging national leader and Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in the election of 1896, fusing with the Democratic Party. Bryan would run unsuccessfully for president three times, deploying his unique blend of powerful oratory espousing populist principles. But as a devoutly pious man, Bryan’s message was firmly grounded in Counter-Enlightenment religious fervor. While some historical accounts often cast Bryan as a prominent leader of the populist movement, he in fact emerged as the movement was already losing steam. By the time of his involvement, many of the principles advocated by the Populist Party were already being co-opted by the mainstream parties.

From many perspectives, the populist movement of the late 19th century represented a reawakening of Enlightenment ideals. The Populist Party’s vision of political mobilization was very much at the heart of the egalitarian Radical Enlightenment tradition of earlier centuries. In addition, the populists’ embrace of education and empirical research to validate beliefs in science were grounded in the most fundamental tenets of the overall Enlightenment.

Interestingly, in 20th-century accounts of the populist movement, an assorted range of narratives presents conflicting views of what the populist movement signified. Some accounts depict populists as rural folk intimidated by modernity, or revolutionaries trying to overthrow capitalism. Others point to Bryan and conclude that the movement was motivated by religious zeal. Such accounts are in general gross misrepresentations. In actuality, this was a movement that fully embraced modernity, and one that endeavored to progressively reform American capitalist institutions, not overthrow or replace them.

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