Interpret the Evidence and Put It in Context

1. According to Frank Doster, how had the position of the worker deteriorated at the end of the nineteenth century (Document 17.1)? How did the Populist Party work to change this system?

2. What did the Reverend J. L. Moore demand on behalf of the Colored Farmers’ Alliance (Document 17.2)? What role did he envision blacks playing in party politics?

3. According to Thomas E. Watson, why should whites and blacks unite in a third party (Document 17.3)? Why is he confident that they will do so?

4. How does the “People’s Party Tree” cartoon express the relationship between the Populist Party and the two major parties (Document 17.4)? Why do you think the Populists relied so heavily on cartoons such as this one?

5. What is William Jennings Bryan’s argument in his Cross of Gold speech (Document 17.5)? According to Bryan, why is money the primary political issue? How does he appeal to history in his speech? What political drawbacks were there in relying on the money issue above the rest of the Populist platform?

1. What do you think made the Populist message appealing? How did the Populists differ from the two major parties? Why do you think their third-party effort failed?