LAD #23: The Populist Party Platform

The populist movement is the common workingman's reaction to the industrialism of the Guilded Age that had so abused him. Basically their party demands that the govermnet return to supporting the people against the businesses that are abusing them. These businesses they declare are forcing the average american into poverty and corrupting american society while lining the industiral owners pockets. Their party organized their platform into five sections: the Introduction, Finance, Transportation, Land, and their expression of sentiments describing how they advocate for other causes as well as their own. In their introduction they outline their main objections to the current state of affairs in the U.S. and demand their revisions be implemented such as the permanence of labor unions, the current wages of the common workers be improved, and that certain businesses, specifiaclly railroads, be regulated by the government for the benefit of the common man. The second section outlines their demands concerning finance including a safe national currency, free and unlimited coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, an increase in the amount of circulating medium, establishment of postal savings banks run by the government, and increasing attempts to keep all wealth within the hands of the people. Their demands for Transportation were focused mainly on government regulation of the public service industry such as railroad, telephone, and telegraph companies. In the land section the populist party demands that sources of wealth not be monopolized for specuative purposes and that companies should not be run by foreign agents. In the last section, the expression of sentiments causes with which they also support are outlines such as a free, secret ballot system, reduced taxes on domestic industries, pensions for sailors and soldiers, restricted immigration, shorter working hours, abolishment of the Pinkerton system, institution of initiative and referendum, term limits for the President and Vice President, direct election of senators, and no subsidies or aid to private corporations.