Objectives1. The learner will analyze the settlement of the Great Plains during the late 1800’s and to examine Native American policies, private property rights, and the Populist movement.2. The learner will contrast the cultures of Native Americans and white settlers and explain why white settlers moved west.3. The learner will identify restrictions imposed by the government on Native American and describe the consequences.4. The learner will identify the government’s policy of assimilation as well as continuing conflicts between Native Americans and settlers.5. The learner will trace the development of the cattle industry.6. The learner will describe both the myth and the reality of the American cowboy and explain the end of the open range.

State Standards

6.2 Identify major agricultural post-Civil War American geographic areas on a map.

6.7 Recognize technological and industrial advancements to the era (i.e., advancements in mining, farming or ranching).

6.10 Interpret a political cartoon which portrays the controversial aspects of the Gilded Age (e.g. Populist reaction to politician and/or tycoons, railroad development, westward expansion, Dawes Act, urban developments).

6.12 Assess the effect of late 19th century technological innovation on the daily lives of American people (i.e., electricity, indoor plumbing, communication, transportation).

CHAPTER 13: CHANGES ON THE

WESTERN FRONTIER

AMERICA SETTLES THE WEST-LATE 19TH CENTURY

SECTION 1: CULTURES CLASH ON THE PRAIRIE

The Great Plains is the vast grassland extending through the west-central portion of the United States.

The culture of the Plains Indians was not well known to Easterners

The Osaga and the Iowa had hunted and planted in the Great plains for over 100 years

Tribes such as the Sioux and Cheyenne hunted buffalo

THE PLAINS

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

SETTLERS PUSH WESTWARDThe white settlers

who pushed westward had a different idea about land ownership

Concluding that the plains were “unsettled, “ thousands advanced to claim land

Gold being discovered in Colorado only intensified the rush for land

A COVERED WAGON HEADS WEST

THE HORSE AND THE BUFFALO

The introduction of horses by the Spanish (1598) and later guns, meant natives were able to travel and hunt

While the horse provided speed and mobility, it was the buffalo that provided for basic needs

BUFFALO WERE USED FOR FOOD, SHELTER AND

CLOTHING

FAMILY LIFE ON THE PLAINS

Small extended families were the norm

Men were hunters, while women helped butcher the game and prepare it

Tribes were very spiritual and land was communal

The horse, buffalo, and extended family were central to the life and culture of the Plains Indians in the 1800s.

The education of Plains Indian children traditionally included Myths, examples, games, NO BOOKS

OSAGE TRIBE

THE GOVERNMENT RESTRICTS NATIVES

As more and more settlers headed west, the U.S. government increasingly protected their interests

Railroads Influence Government Policy– 1834, government

designates Great Plains as one huge reservation

– 1850s, treaties define specific boundaries for each tribe RAILROADS GREATLY

IMPACTED NATIVE LIFE

The Government Restricts Native Americans Death on the Bozeman

Trail– Bozeman Trail

crosses Sioux hunting grounds

• Red Cloud asks for end of settlements; Crazy Horse ambushes troops

– Treaty of Fort Laramie—U.S. closes trail; Sioux to reservation

– Sitting Bull, leader of Hunkpapa Sioux, does not sign treaty

SITTING BULL1831–1890

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Settlers Push Westward

Clash of Cultures– Native Americans: land

cannot be owned; settlers: want to own land

– Settlers think natives forfeited land because did not improve it

– Since consider land unsettled, migrants go west to claim it [Next Slide]

– Most Native Americans responded to restrictions placed upon them by the U. S. government by ignoring the restrictions.

A portrait of a Sioux man and woman in the late 19th century.

NATIVES AND SETTLERS CLASH

1834 – Government set aside all of the Great Plains as “Indian lands”

1850s- Government shifts policy, giving natives much smaller lands

Conflict ensues1864 - Sand Creek

Massacre; US Army attack killing 150 native women and children

OTHER CONFLICTS AND BATTLES

Conflicts continued including; Fetterman Massacre and Red River War

Custer’s Last Stand occurred in early 1876 when Colonel Custer reached Little Big Horn

Led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, the natives outflanked and crushed Custer’s troops

Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Sioux never signed the Treaty of 1868. He helped to defeat the U. S. Army at the Little Bighorn, toured in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for awhile, encouraged the Ghost Dance movement, and was eventually killed during an attempt by reservation police to arrest him.

George A. Custer’s bad judgment in attacking Native American warriors at the Little Bighorn River resulted in his death and that of all his troops.

ONE OF THE FEW NATIVE VICTORIES WAS LITTLE BIG

HORN

THE DAWES ACT - 1887 The Dawes Act of 1887

attempted to assimilate natives

Assimilation sought to abolish Native American’s traditional cultures.

The Dawes Act called for the break up of reservations and the introduction of natives into American life

By 1932, 2/3rds of the land committed to Natives had been taken

The Dawes Act allowed white settlers to take much of the land set aside for Native Americans.

Because of this, The Dawes Act was designed to benefit white Settlers

FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.

Dawes Act – a law, enacted in 1887, that was intended to “Americanize” Native Americans by distributing reservation land to individual owners.

THE DARK AREAS DEPICT NATIVE LANDS BY 1894

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BUFFALO

The most significant blow to tribal life on the plains was the destruction of the buffalo

Tourist and fur traders shot buffalo for sport

1800: 65 million buffalo roamed the plains

1890: less than 1000 remained

The Ghost Dance was supposed to restore the Native American way of life. SHIRTLESS HUNTER

WITH HIS KILL

BATTLE OF WOUNDED KNEEOn December 29, 1890,

the Seventh Cavalry (Custer’s old regiment) rounded up 350 Sioux and took them to Wounded Knee, S.D.

A shot was fired – within minutes the Seventh Cavalry slaughtered 300 unarmed Natives

Massacre of Wounded Knee marked the end of the wars between the federal government and the Plains Indians

HUNDREDS OF CORPSES WERE LEFT TO FREEZE ON

THE GROUND

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.

Dawes Act – a law, enacted in 1887, that was intended to “Americanize” Native Americans by distributing reservation land to individual owners.

Battle of Wounded Knee – the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, in 1890.

“I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream...The nation’s hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.”

BLACK ELK SPEAKING ABOUT WOUNDED KNEE

BLACK ELK

CATTLE BECOMES BIG BUSINESS

Ranching became increasingly profitable

Texas rangers learned how to handle the Texas Longhorns from Mexican rangers

The Mexican vaquero influenced the American cowboy in all of the following areas; language, clothing, food

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.

Dawes Act – a law, enacted in 1887, that was intended to “Americanize” Native Americans by distributing reservation land to individual owners.

Battle of Wounded Knee – the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, in 1890.

Longhorn – a breed of sturdy, long-horned cattle brought by the Spanish to Mexico and suited to the dry conditions of the Southwest.

VOCABULARY BORROWEDVanilla, bronco,

mustang, chaps, mosquito, pronto, tuna, stampede, tornado, chili, cigar, shack, savvy, siesta, wrangler, lasso, lariat, ranch, corral, burro, canyon, bandit, fiesta, guerrilla, hurricane, matador, plaza, rodeo, vigilante, desperado, cockroach, buckaroo

MEXICAN “VAQUEROS” (COW MAN) PROVIDED THE

VOCABULARY FOR THE AMERICAN COWBOY

TRAILS CONNECTED TO RAILROADS

GROWING DEMAND FOR BEEF

After the Civil War the demand for beef surged

Urbanization and the rise of the railroad was instrumental in the increase of beef consumption

Chicago Union Stock Yards was a famous market after 1865

Demand for beef in the East contributed to the development of the Chisholm Trail POSTCARD OF CHICAGO

UNION STOCK YARDS

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.

Dawes Act – a law, enacted in 1887, that was intended to “Americanize” Native Americans by distributing reservation land to individual owners.

Battle of Wounded Knee – the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, in 1890.

Longhorn – a breed of sturdy, long-horned cattle brought by the Spanish to Mexico and suited to the dry conditions of the Southwest.

Chisholm Trail – the major cattle route from San Antonio, Texas, through Oklahoma to Kansas.

COW TOWN & THE TRAIL The Chisholm Trail was the

major cattle route from San Antonio, Texas, through Oklahoma to Kansas.

Abilene, Kansas became famous for being a place where the Chisholm Trail met the railroads

Tens of thousands of cattle came from Texas through Oklahoma to Abilene via the famous Chisholm trail

Once in Abilene the cattle would board rail cars for destinations across the country

Chisholm Trail

Chisholm Trail

A Day in the Life of a Cowboy A Day’s Work

– 1866–1885, up to 55,000 cowboys on plains

• 25% African American, 12% Mexican

– Cowboy works 10–14 hours on ranch; 14 or more on trail

– Expert rider, roper; alert for dangers that may harm, upset cattle [Visual]

Roundup– During spring roundup,

longhorns found, herded into corral

– Separate cattle marked with own ranch’s brand; brand calves

– Most American cowboys used guns to protect their herds.

Cowboys in Colorado lassoing and branding calves.

A Day in the Life of a Cowboy

The Long Drive– Herding of

animals or long drive lasts about 3 months

– Cowboy in saddle dawn to dusk; sleeps on ground; bathes in rivers

Legends of the West– Celebrities like

“Wild Bill” Hickok, Calamity Jane never handled cows [Visual]

Frontierswoman Calamity Jones on horseback

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.

Dawes Act – a law, enacted in 1887, that was intended to “Americanize” Native Americans by distributing reservation land to individual owners.

Battle of Wounded Knee – the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, in 1890.

Longhorn – a breed of sturdy, long-horned cattle brought by the Spanish to Mexico and suited to the dry conditions of the Southwest.

Chisholm Trail – the major cattle route from San Antonio, Texas, through Oklahoma to Kansas.

Long drive – the moving of cattle over trails to a shipping center.

THE END OF THE OPEN RANGE

Almost as soon as ranching became big business, the cattle frontier met its end

Overgrazing, bad weather, and the invention of barbed wire were responsible

Section 1 - Cultures Clash on the Prairie – Vocabulary

Great Plains – the vast grassland that extends through the central portion North America, from Texas northward to Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the treaty requiring the Sioux to live on a reservation along the Missouri River.

Assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the beliefs and way of life of the dominant culture.

Dawes Act – a law, enacted in 1887, that was intended to “Americanize” Native Americans by distributing reservation land to individual owners.

Battle of Wounded Knee – the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, in 1890.

Longhorn – a breed of sturdy, long-horned cattle brought by the Spanish to Mexico and suited to the dry conditions of the Southwest.

Chisholm Trail – the major cattle route from San Antonio, Texas, through Oklahoma to Kansas.

Long drive – the moving of cattle over trails to a shipping center.

Objectives1. The learner will analyze the settlement of the Great Plains during the late 1800’s and to examine Native American policies, private property rights, and the Populist movement.2. The learner will explain the rapid settlement of the Great Plains due to homesteading.3. The learner will describe how early settlers survived on the plains and transformed them into profitable farm land.

State Standards

6.2 Identify major agricultural post-Civil War American geographic areas on a map.

6.7 Recognize technological and industrial advancements to the era (i.e., advancements in mining, farming or ranching).

6.10 Interpret a political cartoon which portrays the controversial aspects of the Gilded Age (e.g. Populist reaction to politician and/or tycoons, railroad development, westward expansion, Dawes Act, urban developments).

6.12 Assess the effect of late 19th century technological innovation on the daily lives of American people (i.e., electricity, indoor plumbing, communication, transportation).

SECTION 2: SETTLING ON THE GREAT PLAINS

Federal land policy and the completion of the transcontinental railroad led to the rapid settlement of American west

1862 – Congress passed Homestead Act which allowed 160 free acres to any “head of household”

The intent of the Homestead Act was to encourage white families to develop the west

A Homesteader was a settler who farmed land given by the federal government.

Section 2 - Settling on the Great Plains – Vocabulary

Homestead Act – a U.S. law enacted in 1862, that provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household and would cultivate the land for five years; a law whose passage led to record numbers of U.S. settlers claiming private property which previously had been reserved by treaty and by tradition for Native American nomadic dwelling and use; the same law strengthened in 1889 to encourage individuals to exercise their private property rights and develop homesteads out of the vast government lands.

The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1868. The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met in Promontory Point, Utah

and laid a Golden Spike

EXODUSTERS MOVE WEST

African Americans (former slaves) who moved from the post-Reconstruction South to the Great Plains were called Exodusters

Many exodusters took advantage of land deals

Section 2 - Settling on the Great Plains – Vocabulary

Homestead Act – a U.S. law enacted in 1862, that provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household and would cultivate the land for five years; a law whose passage led to record numbers of U.S. settlers claiming private property which previously had been reserved by treaty and by tradition for Native American nomadic dwelling and use; the same law strengthened in 1889 to encourage individuals to exercise their private property rights and develop homesteads out of the vast government lands.

Exoduster – an African American who migrated from the South to Kansas in the post-Reconstruction years.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS In 1889, a major

governmental land giveaway in what is now Oklahoma attracted thousands

In less than a day, 2 million acres were claimed by settlers

Some took possession before the government had officially declared it open – thus Oklahoma became known as the “Sooner State”

The reason why a small amount little of the free land offered by the Homestead Act end up being claimed by settlers was because most of it was taken by people seeking profits.

SETTLERS ENCOUNTER HARDSHIPS

The frontier settlers faced extreme hardships – droughts, floods, fires, blizzards, locust plagues, and bandits

Despite hardships, the number of people living west of the Mississippi grew from 1% of the nation’s population in 1850 to almost 30% in 1900LOCUST SWARM

DUGOUTS & SODDIES Most settlers built

their homes from the land itself

Pioneers often dug their homes out of the sides of ravines or hills (Dugouts)

Those in the flat plains made freestanding homes made of turf (Soddies)

In other words, a Soddy was a home made out of prairie turf.

Soddy provided warmth but not protection from snakes and insects.

DUGOUT

SODDY

Section 2 - Settling on the Great Plains – Vocabulary

Homestead Act – a U.S. law enacted in 1862, that provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household and would cultivate the land for five years; a law whose passage led to record numbers of U.S. settlers claiming private property which previously had been reserved by treaty and by tradition for Native American nomadic dwelling and use; the same law strengthened in 1889 to encourage individuals to exercise their private property rights and develop homesteads out of the vast government lands.

Exoduster – an African American who migrated from the South to Kansas in the post-Reconstruction years.

Soddy – a home built of blocks of turf.

INCREASED TECHNOLOGY HELPS FARMERS

1837 – John Deere invented a steel plow that could slice through heavy soil

1847 – Cyrus McCormick mass-produced a reaping machine

Other inventions included a grain drill to plant seed, barbed wire, and corn binder

JOHN DEERE’S STEEL PLOW HAD TO BE PULLED

BY A HORSE OR MULE

FARMER EDUCATION SUPPORTED

The federal government financed agricultural education

The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 gave federal land to states to help finance agricultural colleges

1887 Hatch Act creates agricultural experiment stations

Section 2 - Settling on the Great Plains – Vocabulary

Homestead Act – a U.S. law enacted in 1862, that provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household and would cultivate the land for five years; a law whose passage led to record numbers of U.S. settlers claiming private property which previously had been reserved by treaty and by tradition for Native American nomadic dwelling and use; the same law strengthened in 1889 to encourage individuals to exercise their private property rights and develop homesteads out of the vast government lands.

Exoduster – an African American who migrated from the South to Kansas in the post-Reconstruction years.

Soddy – a home built of blocks of turf.Morrill Act – laws enacted in 1862 and 1890 to help create

agricultural colleges by giving federal land to states.

Farmers in Debt– Bonanza farm is a massive single-crop farms

owned by railroad companies and private investors.– 1885–1890 droughts bankrupt single-crop operations– Rising cost of shipping grain pushes farmers into debt– Inflation, falling prices, tight money supply

intensified the debts that Plains farmers had during the late 1800s.

– The railroad was most responsible for bringing an end to the era of wide-open western frontier.

Section 2 - Settling on the Great Plains – Vocabulary

Homestead Act – a U.S. law enacted in 1862, that provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household and would cultivate the land for five years; a law whose passage led to record numbers of U.S. settlers claiming private property which previously had been reserved by treaty and by tradition for Native American nomadic dwelling and use; the same law strengthened in 1889 to encourage individuals to exercise their private property rights and develop homesteads out of the vast government lands.

Exoduster – an African American who migrated from the South to Kansas in the post-Reconstruction years.

Soddy – a home built of blocks of turf.Morrill Act – laws enacted in 1862 and 1890 to help create

agricultural colleges by giving federal land to states.Bonanza farm – an enormous farm on which a single crop is

grown.

Section 2 - Settling on the Great Plains – Vocabulary

Homestead Act – a U.S. law enacted in 1862, that provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household and would cultivate the land for five years; a law whose passage led to record numbers of U.S. settlers claiming private property which previously had been reserved by treaty and by tradition for Native American nomadic dwelling and use; the same law strengthened in 1889 to encourage individuals to exercise their private property rights and develop homesteads out of the vast government lands.

Exoduster – an African American who migrated from the South to Kansas in the post-Reconstruction years.

Soddy – a home built of blocks of turf.Morrill Act – laws enacted in 1862 and 1890 to help create

agricultural colleges by giving federal land to states.Bonanza farm – an enormous farm on which a single crop is

grown.

Objectives1. The learner will analyze the settlement of the Great Plains during the late 1800’s and to examine Native American policies, private property rights, and the Populist movement.2. The learner will identify the problems farmers faced and their cooperative efforts to solve them.3. The learner will explain the rise and fall of the Populist Party.

State Standards

6.2 Identify major agricultural post-Civil War American geographic areas on a map.

6.7 Recognize technological and industrial advancements to the era (i.e., advancements in mining, farming or ranching).

6.10 Interpret a political cartoon which portrays the controversial aspects of the Gilded Age (e.g. Populist reaction to politician and/or tycoons, railroad development, westward expansion, Dawes Act, urban developments).

6.12 Assess the effect of late 19th century technological innovation on the daily lives of American people (i.e., electricity, indoor plumbing, communication, transportation).

SECTION 3: FARMERS AND THE POPULIST MOVEMENT

Economic Distress– Farmers buy more

land to grow more crops to pay off debts

– After Civil War, government takes greenbacks out of circulation

– Debtors have to pay loans in dollars worth more than those borrowed

ECONOMIC DISTRESS HITS FARMERS

Between 1867 and 1887 the price of a bushel of wheat fell from $2.00 to 68 cents

Railroads conspired to keep transport costs artificially high

Farmers got caught in a cycle of debt

FARMERS ORGANIZE FOR CHANGE

1867 – Oliver Hudson Kelley started the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization for framers that became known as the Grange

Oliver Hudson Kelley organized the Grange.

The Grange started out as a social outlet and educational forum for isolated farm families. It soon became a political voice for farmers.

By 1870, the Grange spent most of their time fighting the railroads

Soon the Grange and other Farmer Alliances numbered over 4 million members

The Grange Supported political candidates, oppose railroads, oppose banks

Section 3 - Farmers and the Populist Movement – Vocabulary

Grange – the Patrons of Husbandry—a social and educational organization through which farmers attempted to combat the power of the railroads in the late 19th century.

Farmers’ Alliances – groups of farmers, or those in sympathy with farming issues, who sent lecturers from town to town to educate people about agricultural and rural issues.

POPULIST PARTY IS BORN

Leaders of the farmers organization realized they needed to build a base of political power

Populism – the movement of the people – was born in 1892 with the founding of the Populist, or People’s Party

This Populist Party turned the American two-party system into a three-party system.

THIS POLITICAL CARTOON SHOWS A POPULIST

CLUBBING A RAILROAD CAR

Section 3 - Farmers and the Populist Movement – Vocabulary

Grange – the Patrons of Husbandry—a social and educational organization through which farmers attempted to combat the power of the railroads in the late 19th century.

Farmers’ Alliances – groups of farmers, or those in sympathy with farming issues, who sent lecturers from town to town to educate people about agricultural and rural issues.

Populism – a late-19th-century political movement demanding that people have a greater voice in government and seeking to advance the interests of farmers and laborers.

POPULIST REFORMSPopulist Party

proposed economic reforms included; an increase in the money supply, a graduated income tax, and a federal loan program.

Proposed political reforms included; direct election of senators, single terms for presidents

Populists also called for an 8-hour workday and reduced immigration

POPULISTS MAKE GAINS

In the 1892 Presidential election, the Populist candidate won almost 10% of the vote

In the West, the party elected 5 senators, 3 governors and 1,500 state legislators

FRED AND PHIL VOTED FOR THE PEOPLE’S PARTY

THE PANIC OF 1893Nationwide economic

problems took center stage in America in 1893

Railroads went bankrupt, the stock market lost value, 15,000 businesses and 500 banks collapsed,

3 million people lost their jobs – putting unemployment at 20%

THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED IN 1893

SILVER OR GOLD? The central issue of the

1896 Presidential campaign was which metal would be the basis of the nation’s monetary system

Bimetallism (those who favored using both) vs. those that favored the Gold Standards alone

Bimetallism was a monetary system in which the government would give people silver or gold in exchange for paper currency.

Section 3 - Farmers and the Populist Movement – Vocabulary

Grange – the Patrons of Husbandry—a social and educational organization through which farmers attempted to combat the power of the railroads in the late 19th century.

Farmers’ Alliances – groups of farmers, or those in sympathy with farming issues, who sent lecturers from town to town to educate people about agricultural and rural issues.

Populism – a late-19th-century political movement demanding that people have a greater voice in government and seeking to advance the interests of farmers and laborers.

Bimetallism – the use of both gold and silver as a basis for a national monetary system.

Gold standard – a monetary system in which the basic unit of currency is defined in terms of a set amount of gold.

SILVER OR GOLD? Republicans favored the

Gold standard and nominated William McKinley

Members of the Republican party were mainly business owners and bankers form industrialized areas.

The Plains farmers in the late 1800s tended to support bimetallism because it would put more money in circulation.

Bimetallism was a policy that supporters hoped would place more money in the pockets of ordinary people.

WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN

William Jennings Bryan was nominated by two parties as their candidate for the 1896 presidential election.

The Populist candidate who lost the presidential election of 1896 was William Jennings Bryan

Democrats favored Bimetallism and nominated William Jennings Bryan

Despite Bryan’s stirring words, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold,” McKinley won the 1896 election

Williams Jennings Bryan

“CROSS OF GOLD” “ Having behind us the

producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”—Democratic convention speech, Chicago, July 8, 1896

The “Cross of Gold” speech helped convince an undecided Democratic Convention to nominate Williams Jennings Bryan for president.

THE END OF POPULISM With McKinley’s election

victory, Populism collapsed, burying the hopes of the farmer

William McKinley won the election of 1896 because he had the support of the East and Midwest.

Populism left two important legacies: 1) A message that the downtrodden can organize and be heard and 2) An agenda of reforms, many of which would be enacted in the 20th century

THE PEOPLE’S PARTY WAS SHORT-LIVED BUT LEFT AN

IMPORTANT LEGACY

Section 3 - Farmers and the Populist Movement – Vocabulary

Grange – the Patrons of Husbandry—a social and educational organization through which farmers attempted to combat the power of the railroads in the late 19th century.

Farmers’ Alliances – groups of farmers, or those in sympathy with farming issues, who sent lecturers from town to town to educate people about agricultural and rural issues.

Populism – a late-19th-century political movement demanding that people have a greater voice in government and seeking to advance the interests of farmers and laborers.

Bimetallism – the use of both gold and silver as a basis for a national monetary system.

Gold standard – a monetary system in which the basic unit of currency is defined in terms of a set amount of gold.