Populist Party (United States)
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People's Party
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|---|---|
 |
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| Leader |
James B. Weaver William Jennings Bryan Thomas E. Watson |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Dissolved | 1908 |
| Preceded by |
Farmers' Alliance Greenback Party Union Labor Party |
| Merged into | Democratic Party |
| Ideology |
Populism Agrarianism Bimetallism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Colors | Green |
The People's Party, also known as the Populist Party or the Populists, was an agrarian-populist political party in the United States. For a few years, 1892–96, it played a major role as a left-wing force in American politics. It was merged into the Democratic Party in 1896; a small independent remnant survived until 1908. It drew support from angry farmers in the West and South and operated on the left-wing of American politics. It was highly critical of capitalism, especially banks and railroads, and allied itself with the labor movement.
Established in 1891, as a result of the Populist movement, the People's Party reached its zenith in the 1892 presidential election, when its ticket, composed of James B. Weaver and James G. Field, won 8.5% of the popular vote and carried five states (Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada and North Dakota), and the 1894 House of Representatives elections, when it took over 10% of the vote. Built on a coalition of poor, white cotton farmers in the South (especially North Carolina, Alabama and Texas) and hard-pressed wheat farmers in the Plains states (especially Kansas and Nebraska), the Populists represented a radical crusading form of agrarianism and hostility to elites, cities, banks, railroads, and gold.
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