Why did the Farmers Alliance decide to form a third party in the late nineteenth century?
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Log in through your institution journal article The Farmers' Alliance: An Agricultural Protest Movement of the 1880'sThe Agricultural History Review Vol. 26, No. 1 (1978) , pp. 15-25 (11 pages) Published By: British Agricultural History Society https://www.jstor.org/stable/40273910 Read and download Log in through your school or library Alternate access options For independent researchers Read Online Read 100 articles/month free Subscribe to JPASS Unlimited reading + 10 downloads Journal Information Agricultural History Review publishes articles on all aspects of the history of agriculture, rural society and rural economy. The normal focus of the Review is the agrarian and rural history of the British Isles, but papers on the rural history of Europe, North America and Australasia are also welcome, especially where they make a comparative contribution to our understanding of British developments. There is no formal date range. The Review is open to papers employing a wide range of methodologies. As well as papers which employ an orthodox historical approach, the Review is as equally interested in publishing papers which employ archaeological and landscape techniques as ones which utilize the insights derived from quantitative history, from modern literary studies or gender studies. Papers are, however, expected to appeal to a wide audience. The Review does not publish papers whose interest is essentially local. Publisher Information The BAHS is the national society for the study of the history of agriculture, rural society and the landscape of Britain and Ireland. We publish a magazine, Rural History Today, as well as a scholarly journal, Agricultural History Review, and our conferences provide opportunities for historians (professional and non-professional) to meet, mix and exchange views in a friendly and sociable atmosphere. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. As farmers pushed westward into Texas, Kansas, and other western states and territories after the Civil War, they experienced some difficult times. To meet these problems they began to form organizations such as the Farmers' Alliance. Besides facing such neutral problems as drought, farmers experienced low commodity prices, high freight rates, high interest rates, and other difficulties. They were very critical of the larger corporations, especially the railroads. These conditions and complaints were familiar to farmers in Indian Territory and to those who rushed into Oklahoma Territory in 1889 and later. The Farmers' Alliance was first organized in Texas in the mid-1870s and soon spread to other states and territories in the South and Midwest. One of the group's main goals was to form cooperatives. Farmers set up cooperatively owned retail stores and marketing organizations. The idea was to give producers more influence in buying their supplies and marketing their products. The Farmers' Alliance was very strong in Texas and Kansas. Lying between these two states, Oklahoma and Indian territories, not surprisingly, offered alliance organizers an opportunity. In 1889 the alliance was organized by "outlanders," or non–American Indian farmers who had moved into the territory. The organization established a number of cooperatively owned businesses and published its own newspaper, the Alliance Courier, in Ardmore. However, the cooperative enterprises soon failed because of lack of capital, poor management, and insufficient patron support. With the failure of the cooperatives and the rise of the Populist Party most of the Alliance members shifted their emphasis to politics. The settlement of Oklahoma Territory came too late for the Farmers' Alliance to have much impact among farmers. By 1890, when the territorial government was organized, the main political issues were free homes and statehood. However, farmers were strongly interested in the growing demands of the Populists. The farmers' movement in both territories gradually blended into the larger farmer-protest activities that coalesced into Populism at the national level. Farmers demanded free and unlimited coinage of silver to inflate the currency and raise farm prices, government ownership of the railroads, taxation of income, abolition of national banks, prohibition of alien land ownership, and other reforms. Although the Farmers' Alliance in the Twin Territories served as a background for the Populist movement, its more important influence may have been on the subsequent organization of the Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union in 1902, which, among other objectives, strongly supported the formation of farmer cooperatives. Overall, however, the Farmers' Alliance did not play a significant role in Oklahoma's protest history. Gilbert C. Fite BibliographyHoward L. Meredith, "The 'Middle Way': The Farmers' Alliance in Indian Territory, 1889–1896," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 47 (Winter 1969–70). Theodore Saloutos, Farmer Movements in the South, 1865–1933 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1960). Terry Paul Wilson, "The Demise of Populism in Oklahoma Territory," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 43 (Fall 1965). Browse By TopicFarming ExploreCitationThe following (as per The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition) is the preferred citation for articles: © Oklahoma Historical Society Copyright and Terms of Use No part of this site may be construed as in the public domain. Copyright to all articles and other content in the online and print versions of The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History is held by the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS). This includes individual articles (copyright to OHS by author assignment) and corporately (as a complete body of work), including web design, graphics, searching functions, and listing/browsing methods. Copyright to all of these materials is protected under United States and International law. Users agree not to download, copy, modify, sell, lease, rent, reprint, or otherwise distribute these materials, or to link to these materials on another web site, without authorization of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Individual users must determine if their use of the Materials falls under United States copyright law's "Fair Use" guidelines and does not infringe on the proprietary rights of the Oklahoma Historical Society as the legal copyright holder of The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and part or in whole. Why did the farmers Alliance decide to form a third party in the late 19th century?Initially, the Alliance tried pressuring political candidates to endorse measures that it believed would benefit farmers. When politicians proved more willing to make promises than to enact legislation, Alliance leaders began to consider forming a third political party rather than relying on the existing parties.
Why did the farmers Alliance form the Populist Party?Farmers' Alliance, an American agrarian movement during the 1870s and '80s that sought to improve the economic conditions for farmers through the creation of cooperatives and political advocacy. The movement was made up of numerous local organizations that coalesced into three large groupings.
What was the main purpose of the farmers Alliance?One of the group's main goals was to form cooperatives. Farmers set up cooperatively owned retail stores and marketing organizations. The idea was to give producers more influence in buying their supplies and marketing their products. The Farmers' Alliance was very strong in Texas and Kansas.
What political party came from the farmers Alliance?The Populist Political Party (also known as the People's Party) grew from the roots of the Farmers' Alliance. In 1892, the Populist Party candidate for president, James B. Weaver, carried four states and received electoral votes in North Dakota.
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