Source: Narrated by Zach Lamb
Russell and Cici are making a documentary that examines the origins of populism in the United States, in an attempt to better grasp the current state of politics. It's yet another example of how contemporary issues influence historians' investigations of the past. For instance, today, amidst widespread income inequality, persistent racial, social, and class conflict, and a slow economic recovery, and the 2016 election of Donald Trump, the 1890s are of renewed interest to historians in the public.
The 1890s are significant, because for the first time millions of Americans attempted to come to grips with the transformative effects of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. It was an intense period of social and economic upheaval. If we follow Russell and Cici's example and look carefully, we'll find elements of the 1890s that still persist in America today.
Farmers in the South and the West were increasingly marginalized by their region's economies. The South's overwhelming dependence on cotton production, and its reliance on sharecropping and crop lien systems, indebted poor white and black farmers to corporate landowners, creditors, and store owners.
Meanwhile, farmers on the Great Plains were at the mercy of railroads, who charged exorbitant rates to ship their produce. And the 1890s also witnessed intense labor conflict. The Homestead strike of 1892 pitted steelworkers in Pennsylvania against the power of Carnegie Steel.
The Panic of 1893 initiated the worst economic depression the United States had experienced in its history.
The Pullman Strike in 1894 temporarily paralyzed the nation's railroad system. Corporate interest and the federal government suppressed, and ultimately defeated, both labor strikes and their attempts to improve living and working conditions in industrial America.
By 1894, nearly 19% of American workers were unemployed, and Coxey's Army marched to Washington, DC to demand the federal government respond to the crisis.
Finally, the Populist Party was the most significant political movement that emerged during this period. The populists envisioned a federal government that was more democratic and activist, and that protected interests of working Americans. Historians continue to grapple with the significance of the populists.
By finishing this challenge, you've almost completed unit 1. Congratulations.
Now, take a moment to think about what best characterizes America today. Is it the goods that we consume? Our communication and travel technologies? The ability of our political institutions to adapt to new issues or respond to certain crises?
The 1890s marked the beginning of modern America. The Panic of 1893 marked the first time the majority of Americans were subjected to the whims and fluctuations of an industrialized capitalist economy. The 1896 presidential election might even seem similar to contemporary elections, given its influx of money designed to influence the outcome and the presence of an active candidate who took his populist message directly to the people.
If you look closely enough and apply your historical thinking skills, you can make these connections between the past and the present.