People's Party

(noun)

The People's Party, also known as the "Populists," was a short-lived political party that reached its height in 1896, when Democrats nominated their candidate, William Jennings Bryan, for president. This party was based among poor, white farmers in the South and Midwest. The party expressed hostility to banks, railroads, and elites, sometimes allying with labor unions.

Related Terms

Examples of People's Party in the following topics:

  • The People's Party and the Election of 1896

    • Discontent with the two major political parties during the 1896 election year led to strong third party efforts by the People's Party.
    • In early 1896, with the economy still poor, there was widespread discontent with the two existing major political parties.
    • Some people—mostly Democrats—joined the far-left Populist Party.
    • By 1896, the Democratic Party took up many of the People's Party's causes at the national level, and the party began to fade from national prominence.
    • Assess the significance to the Populist Party William Jennings Bryan's 1896 presidential campaign

  • The Farmer's Alliance

    • The Farmers' Alliance moved into politics in the early 1890s under the banner of the People's Party, commonly known as the "Populists."
    • In 1889–1890, the alliance was reborn as the Populist Party.
    • The Populist Party, which fielded national candidates in the 1892 election, essentially repeated all the demands of the alliance in its platform.
    • In 1892, the Farmers' Alliance founded the People's Party, and the Ocala Demands were incorporated in the party's Omaha Platform.
    • The Populist Party grew directly out of the Farmers' Alliance.

  • The Populist Movement

    • The People's Party, also known as the Populist Party, was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891 during the Populist movement.
    • Regardless of these rhetoric appeals, however, racism was present in the People's Party.
    • By 1896, the Democratic Party took up many of the People's Party's causes at the national level, and the party began to fade from national prominence.
    • Populist activists either retired from politics, joined a major party, or followed Eugene Debs into his new Socialist Party.
    • In 1896, the 36-year-old William Jennings Bryan was the chosen candidate resulting from the fusion of the Democrats and the People's Party.

  • Progress and Poverty

    • He was closely connected with the work of the Socialist Labor Party from 1874 to 1884, after which he devoted himself almost exclusively to lecturing.
    • At this time, Bellamy began to promote united action between the various Nationalist Clubs and the emerging People's Party.
    • For the next three and a half years, Bellamy devoted his time to politics, published his magazine, worked to influence the platform of the People's Party, and publicized the Nationalist movement in the popular press.
    • With key Nationalist Club activists largely absorbed into the apparatus of the People's Party, Bellamy abandoned politics and returned to literature.

  • Gronlund and Bellamy

    • He was closely connected with the work of the Socialist Labor Party from 1874 to 1884, after which he devoted himself almost exclusively to lecturing.
    • At this time, Bellamy began to promote united action between the various Nationalist Clubs and the emerging People's Party.
    • For the next three and a half years, Bellamy devoted his time to politics, published his magazine, worked to influence the platform of the People's Party, and publicized the Nationalist movement in the popular press.
    • With key Nationalist Club activists largely absorbed into the apparatus of the People's Party, Bellamy abandoned politics and returned to literature.

  • The Populist Party and the Election of 1896

    • The Populist Party backed the Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 election.
    • The People's Party, also known as the "Populists Party", was a short-lived political party in the United States, established in 1891 during the Populist movement.
    • The terms "populist" and "populism" are commonly used for anti-elitist appeals in opposition to established interests and mainstream parties.
    • As a minority member of the resolutions committee, Bryan was able to push the Democratic Party from its laissez-faire and small-government roots towards its modern, liberal character.
    • His "Cross of Gold" speech made him the sensational new face in the Democratic party.

  • The Sectional Crisis Deepens

    • Between 1854 and 1856 alone, an abundance of new political parties and organizations emerged, including the Republicans, the People's Party Men, Anti-Nebraskans, Fusionists, Know-Nothings, the Temperance Movement, Hard Shell Democrats, Rum Democrats, and Silver Gray Whigs.
    • Yet the abundance of political parties and organizations was eventually whittled down due to increasing sectionalism between the North and the South.
    • The Republicans became the party of the North, promoting industry and business while also attracting antislavery factions.
    • The core platform of the Republican Party was opposition to the expansion of slavery into new territories in order to protect the interests of yeoman farmers and industrialists seeking new land and investments.
    • Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican president of the U.S. following a period of increased sectional conflict among and within existing American political parties.

  • Tension with the USSR

    • The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a revolt against the pro-Soviet People's Republic of Hungary's government that was crushed by the military intervention of the Soviet Union.
    • The brief period of multi-party democracy came to an end when the Communist Party merged with the Social Democratic Party to become the Hungarian Working People's Party, which stood its candidate list unopposed in 1949.
    • The People's Republic of Hungary was then declared.
    • From 1950 to 1952, the Security Police forcibly relocated thousands of people to obtain property and housing for the Working People's Party members.
    • During the night of October 23rd, Hungarian Working People's Party Secretary Ernő Gerő requested Soviet military intervention "to suppress a demonstration that was reaching an ever greater and unprecedented scale."

  • Nixon in China

    • Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important step in easing relations between both nations.
    • Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an important step in easing relations between the two countries.
    • Nixon met and engaged in intense negotiations with Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party.

  • The Dorr Rebellion

    • In October, Dorr's supporters held the People's Convention and drafted a new constitution that granted the vote to all white men with one year's residence in the state.
    • The People's Convention version was overwhelmingly supported in a referendum in December.
    • Although much of the support for the People's Convention constitution came from newly eligible voters, Dorr claimed that most of those eligible under the old constitution also had supported it, making it legal.
    • After his defeat, Thomas Dorr and his supporters retreated to Chepachet where they hoped to reconvene the People's Convention.
    • It was accepted by both parties and took effect in May of 1843.