What is Populist Movement?
The '''Populist Movement''', also known as the '''People's Party''' was a movement in late-19th century America. It grew out of groups such as the Grange Movement. It was largely a movement of farmers, who were poor and felt big businesses, such as [[railroad]]s, were to blame. Its leaders included [[Thomas Watson]] and [[William Jennings Bryan]]. The populists had a series of demands known as the Omaha Platform. Here are some of the things the Omaha Platform wanted: * An [[income tax]] * Direct election of United States Senators * Free coinage of silver (at a rate of 16 ozs. of silver to one ounce of gold) to encourage [[inflation]] * Government ownership of railroads and other large businesses Though the Populists never and only controlled a few state governments for a few years, many of the demands of the Omaha Platform, such as the income tax and direct election of Senators, were later done as part of the Progressive Movement [[Category:19th century in the United States]] {{US-stub}}