Exceptional Whiskers & A Populist Army: The Story of Populism. Pt. 2

December 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri saw the new People’s Party hold their national convention.  Attended by 10,000 cheering people, the delegates presented the first Populist Manifesto.  The new political movement wasn’t so much a wind of change as a hurricane.  In response to calls for a presidential nominee to be named the people erupted, the cheering so loud it reached the thousands outside of the hall who had been unable to get in.  They joined in and the chorus of cheers was so loud it reminded ‘one of the lashing of the ocean against a rocky beach during a hurricane.’

The wave blew right over into Omaha, where on Independence Day, the People’s Party took political root.  The Omaha Platform, as it came to be known, set out the main tenets of the Populist movement; the secret ballot, direct election of senators, graduated income tax and an 8 hour day were among the main manifesto pledges.  James B. Weaver was eventually nominated as the party’s first presidential candidate.  Lacking the oratory skills and political colour of Sockless Jerry Simpson and Mary Elizabeth Lease (see my blog: Story of Populism. Pt.1), Weaver, from Iowa, was said to be a composite of strength and gentleness, a man who ‘the cannibalism of politics had snapped at in vain.’

Candidate James B. Weaver

The People’s Party had evolved out of the Texas or Farmers Alliance in the West of the United States at a time when the frontier was all but finished.  Senator William Peffer put it well when he said that “formerly when a farmer lost his farm he could go West,” but “now there is no longer any West to go to!  Now they have to fight for their farms instead of making new.”

At a time when political characters abounded, Peffer stood out by the length of his beard, which was so long it was written that he ‘is not obliged to spend money on a Christmas tree.  He simply puts glass balls, small candles, strings of popcorn and cornucopias in his magnificent whiskers and there you are!’

William Peffer & his exceptional whiskers!

Another Populist candidate, one Davis Waite, who ran for the senatorial seat in Colorado proposed ‘free and unlimited coinage of silver,’ saying that “blood should flow to the horses’ bridles rather than our national liberties should be destroyed!’

One key component of Populist politicians of whatever era, is that they rail against the system.  The system may change or evolve with time and with different governments, but the basic character of Populist politicians does not.  They fight the elite (or the system) on behalf of the people, whether that elite be Wall St (Occupy Wall St campaign), billionaires (Bernie Saunders) or corporations who wish to leave the USA for cheaper labour (Donald Trump).

Back in 1892 Waite, or ‘Bloody Bridles’ Waite as became known, terrified the conservatives who were convinced he wanted to lead the ‘silver states’ out of the union or even worse, that he may raise a Populist army to invade the East.  Coming less than 30 years after the cessation of hostilities (from the Civil War) these fears were very real indeed.  Waite, together with another eager Populist campaigner, Hamlin Garland, whipped up a political storm which blew all the way to Washington.

'Bloody Bridles' Waite

The People’s Party shouted loudly enough that their voice was heard across the United States; no mean feat back then when communication was much slower.  But the Eastern newspapers never really took to their cause, despite feeling sympathy for the plight of the Westerners, the Populists were viewed as rabble rousers who wanted to bring the political architecture down about Washington’s ears.  But despite shouting the loudest Grover Cleveland was elected President, whilst the People’s Party claimed ascendency only the West.

In Kansas the Populists won control of the state senate and state House of Representatives, as well as the seat of governor, but in a disputed result the Republicans upset the proverbial apple cart, with each party electing a presiding officer, then taking turns to pass laws and make speeches in the others’ absence. From there it descended into near chaos as armed Populists took over the state legislature, with Republicans trying to smash their way back in with sledgehammers.  The governor called out the state militia who rolled Gatling guns out onto the lawns out front of the house.  However, no further violence ensued when it became clear that the Gatling guns had been effectively scuppered (someone had removed the cranks needed for firing the article) and were useless.  Then a blizzard brought everything to standstill for a time, after which the Populists up and left leaving the courts to sort out the mess.  Since the courts were Republican it all went their way and the Kansas ‘Pops’ began to fade away.

Reading about it from here it all sounds like some wild and wacky scenes from a Coen Brothers movie, but it does illustrate one thing perhaps, the passion Westerners felt for their politics!  Indeed, similar scenes blew up in Denver the very next year (1893) following the ‘money panic’ that forced banks to close, mines to shut and the rural unemployed to migrant in their thousands into the cities.  Governor ‘Bloody Bridles’ Waite in Denver who, in attempting to feed and shelter the migrants, ran foul of other local officials.  Once again the troops were called in and cannon were on the streets in an attempt to restore order.

Free silver was seen as the universal cure-all by the unfortunates, the down trodden and the unemployed, and its’ proponents grew all over the hard-up West.  Dee Brown tells of one such protagonist, described as being 'a huge man, wearing high boots, a sombrero, and a fringed buckskin shirt with buttons made of silver!'  This was Carl Browne, latter-day rancher, cartoonist, editor and sometime inventor of flying machines, who arrived at the 1893 Free Silver Convention in Chicago spouting stories of a Populist Army of over 1 million Westerners who were ready to march into Washingtom and demand the government address their concerns.  The baton was firmly taken up by Jacob Coxey, from Ohio, who considered that a million Esaterners might also be persuaded to join in, so it followed that Coxey's Army was borne and the Populist Army was on the march.

Between them Browne and Coxey stirred up a hornets nest.  Armies of followers came from all over, the largest hailing from California, Colorado, Idaho, Washington and Montana, all of them heading for DC in the Spring of 1894.  What a sight it must have made, all marching in unison with a single aim; to make the government listen to their needs!

But not everyone joined the bandwagon and for some the march became a life and death affair.  In Butte, unemployed miners and railraod workers highjacked a train which they took to Bozeman, Ohio, where they added to their number and took on more than 3 tonnes of flour and beef before continuing on to Billings, where a US Marshall and 75 deputies awaited.  In the ensuing fight a man was killed and several more were wounded as the Marshall and his men retired to safety.

During the night, as the train lay sidetracked in in Forsyth, the War Department sent in 6 Companies of infantry form Fort Keogh and 4 of Cavalry from Fort Custer to rein the men in.  As the 'Pops' lay sleeping the troops moved in, arresting 331 men, who were then transported to Helena, tried, convicted and sentenced.  But even this didn't cool their ardour.  A month later they were headed East once again, this time riding flatboats down the Missouri!

The largest army of all was led by Charles T. Kelly, and it came from California.  Over 1500 men, including a young Jack London (later author of Call of the Wild and White Fang) rejected the offer of a free freight train and took over passenger cars instead.  Nevertheless by the time they had reached Utah transportaion had once again become a problem.  'Bloody Bridles' Waite, then Guvernor of Colorado, invited them into his state where they took control of a Union Pacific Freight train which ran all the way to Omaha without incident.

However, in Washington the wait was tough, and by the time the late arrivals from the West rolled into town Coxey had already departed, ostensibly to look for funds, whilst others, including Carl Browne, had gone for a jolly at the beach in Atlantic City!  The march had failed dismally and many began the long trek for home, vowing to continue the fight at the ballot box.

So it was with the early Populists, their cause alive with more enthusiasm than success, more misplaced dynamism than seats won.  In the end the nearset they came to winning the Presidency was oddly enough with a Democrat, one William Jennings Bryan, who had more or less filched the Populist manifesto word for word and ran in 1896 attracting support from both the Democrats and the Populists.  In a close run contest he eventually lost out to William McKinley, and depite running twice more this was the closest Bryan came.

As America saw in the new century prosperity once again burned bright and the fires of industry grew, the flames consuming the passions and personalities of the Populist cause, which was not to rear its' head in discomfort again until the last decade when, following the financial crisis of 2008/9, the seeds of discontent began to grow anew.

In the final part of this I shall take a look the new rise of Populism across the capitalist West, its' characters and its' future.