The Farmers Alliance The populist movement first came into being
in small communities far from any cities or centers of political
or cultural activity. During the summer of 1890 farm families in
the agrarian South and West gathered in their respective areas
to discuss their problems. At these gatherings, agrarian
families listened to the speeches of recruiters from the
“National Farmers’ Alliance.” The Farmers’ Alliance grew at an
astounding speed. During the late 1800’s discontent among the
agrarian population was becoming a worldwide issue. With the
advent of advanced forms of transportation and communication the
farmers were suddenly hurled into a far larger market that they
no longer were in control of. Due to the increased opportunity
for competition, prices of crops began to drop. However, this
same phenomenon affected other products as well and, although
farmers were making less profit quantitatively, their actual
purchasing power (or qualitative profit) was increasing. Farmers
expressed grievances abo