"Burn Down Your Cities": The Populist Party Revolt
- Rosie Jayde Uyola
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
Target: I can explain why farmers demanded economic change by comparing the Populist Party platform to William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech.
Key Vocabulary
Populist Party (People's Party): A third political party formed by farmers in the 1890s to fight against banks and railroads.
The Gold Standard: A system where all money must be backed by gold. Farmers hated this because it kept the money supply low (deflation) and made it hard to pay back debts.
Free Silver: The Populist demand to print more money backed by silver. They believed this would create inflation (raise crop prices) and help farmers pay off debts.
William Jennings Bryan: The Democratic and Populist candidate for President in 1896 who gave the famous "Cross of Gold" speech supporting farmers.
Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)
Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 5-8 sentence response.
Prompt: Imagine you borrowed $100 from a friend. Suddenly, the value of a dollar doubles—now every dollar is worth twice as much as before. Is it now harder or easier for you to pay back your friend? Why would someone who owes money (a debtor) hate it if money becomes too valuable? |
Sentence Starter: If the value of money suddenly doubled, it would be harder to pay back the loan because... A person in debt would hate this because...
Part 2: Analyzing the Sources
Directions: Analyze the two documents below and then answer the questions that follow.
Source 1: The Omaha Platform (Populist Party, 1892)
Context: In 1892, angry farmers met in Omaha, Nebraska to form a new political party. This is the preamble (intro) to their list of demands.
Original Text | Simplified Text |
"The conditions which surround us best justify our co-operation; we meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot-box, the Legislatures, the Congress... The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for a few... and the possessors of those, in turn, despise the Republic and endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb of governmental injustice we breed the two great classes—tramps and millionaires." | "The bad conditions around us prove we need to work together; we are meeting in a nation that is close to total ruin. Corruption controls our voting and our government... The money made by the hard work of millions of people is being stolen to build up huge fortunes for a just a few people... and these rich people hate our democracy. Because of this unfair government, we have created two classes of people in America: the homeless (tramps) and the millionaires." |
Source 2: William Jennings Bryan, "Cross of Gold" Speech (1896)
Context: In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran for President. He gave this speech to the Democratic National Convention to convince them to drop the Gold Standard and help farmers.
Original Text | Simplified Text |
"You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard. I tell you that the great cities rest upon these broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country... Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." | "You tell us that the cities want the Gold Standard. But I tell you that the cities rely on our farms to survive. If you burn down the cities but leave the farms, the cities will grow back. But if you destroy the farms, the cities will die and grass will grow in the streets... We have the workers and the farmers behind us. We will answer your demand for a Gold Standard by telling you: You will not torture the workers with a 'crown of thorns.' You will not kill mankind on a 'cross of gold.'" |
Analysis Questions
Directions: Answer the writing questions and the two Multiple Choice questions.
1. According to Source 1, what are the "two great classes" that the Populists believe America has been divided into?
Sentence Starter: According to the text, the two classes are... This shows the Populists believed that wealth was...
2. In Source 2, William Jennings Bryan says, "Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again." What point is he trying to make about who is more important?
Sentence Starter: Bryan is arguing that farmers are more important because without them...
Regents-Style Multiple Choice
3. The arguments made by William Jennings Bryan and the Populist Party in these documents were primarily a reaction to:
(1) The success of the abolitionist movement
(2) Economic hardships faced by farmers due to low crop prices and high debt
(3) The rapid growth of the textile industry in New England
(4) The United States entering World War I
4. Although the Populist Party did not win the election of 1896, many of their ideas (like the direct election of Senators and a graduated income tax) were later achieved by:
(1) The Progressive Reformers
(2) The Know-Nothing Party
(3) The Federalist Party
(4) The Robber Barons
Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)
Directions: Answer the following prompt in a complete paragraph (5-8 sentences).
Prompt: Using evidence from both sources, explain why farmers and workers were angry in the 1890s. Why did William Jennings Bryan compare the Gold Standard to a "Cross of Gold"? |
Sentence Starter: Farmers and workers were angry because, as the Omaha Platform (Source 1) states, they felt that their hard work was being "stolen" to create... William Jennings Bryan (Source 2) agreed, arguing that if you "destroy our farms," then... He compared the Gold Standard to a "Cross of Gold" because he believed it was...
