The Populist Party and Modernity
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The Populist Party was a large group of small family farmers from the southern and western states of the United States which embraced many of the benefits modernity had to offer. The party was established in 1892, after a presidential convention in Omaha.
Many members of the party worked in an agricultural profession and thus embraced the production of new machinery because it would boost production by a large margin. By doing this they embraced the very symbol of the industrial revolution. One major company that still exists today arose from this movement. John Deere still manufactures farm equipment today.
Another modern stance by the party was its support for the women's suffrage movement. While they never actually allowed a woman to vote, they supported the idea. It was realized that no significant political changes could be made without an adequate number of votes to back them. It was also noticed that women were more likely to vote in the interest of family and the overall welfare of the farmers and laborers. They were also perceived to have a clearer sense of values than men. The party did uphold their traditional morals but also embraced a more modern stance as well.
[edit] References
Divine, Robert A., Breen, T.H., Fredrickson, George M., Williams, Hal R., Gross, Ariela J., Brands, H.W. (2005). The American Story Volume II. Second Edition. New York: Penguin Academics.
