8.5The Populist revolt

While industrialists prospered, farmers struggled with falling crop prices, heavy debts, and the power of railroads and banks. Their anger fueled a mass movement. In 1892, they formed the People's Party, or Populists, demanding radical reforms: government control of railroads, a graduated income tax, and an expanded money supply to ease debts.

The Populists channeled deep grievances against concentrated economic power. In 1896, their cause merged with the Democratic campaign of William Jennings Bryan, who thundered against the gold standard. Bryan lost, and the Populist Party faded, but its ideas did not die. Many would be taken up by the reformers of the coming Progressive Era.