Formulation of the Populist Party



Introduction

The Populist Party of America included farmers, reform-minded and small businessmen leaders who were ready to tackle the increasing problem of the country. There have been many populist movements in American history, the most prominent of which was the Populist Party of the 1890s, formed by millions of farmers and workers who were frustrated by the economic domination of corporations and trusts. The party's objective was to push for anti-trust regulations. Other populist movements included the Greenback Party, the Progressive Party and Share Our Wealth party led by presidential-aspirant Huey Long in the 1930s (Surel, 2002, pp. 97).

Discussion

Despite their variety, the consistent theme of all populist movements has been frustration with the political or economic condition status quo. The goal of the movement was not so much to change the underlying system itself, but to focus on elements of the system that raised the ire and bonded members of the movement. Most populist movements gained influence and power by coalescing the fears and concerns of “the people” against the establishment and “the elite” of society. This approach pits the “haves” against the “have-nots,” and uses to achieve both satisfactory and extremely dangerous results. For example, the efforts of the Populist Party in America led directly to the passage of anti-trust regulations, which opened new economic opportunity and freedom for millions of Americans. Once this has been achieved, however; the party faded from view. On the other hand, the Nazi Party in Germany played the tune of populism to rally middle-class support. The Nazis targeted the frustrations of middle-class populists to mobilize their anger at leading government and influential business. They promised to break social barriers of status and caste, and they espoused the populist ideal of a “people's society” to take power. We know how that worked out. We also know the aforementioned Huey Long was shot dead by the corresponding of a political enemy (Canovan, 2001, pp. 125).

Like various American political parties, the Populist Party was internally separated over various issues of geography, general political loyalty and race. The national impact of the Populist Party in America was being restricted by the traditional limitation on third parties even having elected state and local officials. The Populist Party in America started building platforms in 1892 in which the issues were raised to assist the small farmers, small businessmen and including all those people who were a ...