Others: Third Parties During the Populist Period (Volume 2) (Hardcover)

by Darcy G Richardson (Author)
Key Phrases: silver party, autumn campaign, agrarian reformers, New York, United States, Populist Party (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This engrossing narrative chronicles the period immediately following the collapse of the Greenback-Labor Party in the 1880s and the subsequent rise of Populism a few years later. Originating in the Midwest and the South as a political response to the increasingly painful economic distress of the nation’s farmers, the Populist Party—the most powerful agrarian movement in American history—achieved major-party status in several states while electing governors in Colorado, Kansas, and South Dakota. In addition to winning nearly 400 state legislative races and holding five seats in the U.S. Senate, the Populists also captured twenty-two congressional seats during their high-water mark in 1896—the largest bloc of third-party congressmen since the Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s.

Culminating with the party’s demise in 1908, this period of rapid and unprecedented industrialization in American society also included the founding of the Socialist Party, a young and virile organization led by labor leader Eugene V. Debs that quickly eclipsed the older Socialist Labor Party on the American Left, and witnessed the venerable Prohibitionists—the country’s oldest minor party—briefly emerge as the leading third-party movement in the United States.

About the Author
Darcy G. Richardson is the author of A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign and Others: Third-Party Politics From the Nation’s Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party. Long active in independent and third-party politics, he lives and works in Jacksonville, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 506 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595686249
• ISBN-13: 978-0595686247
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,823,672 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It made my blood race, April 27, 2007

By	Richard L. Winger (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Others: Third Parties During the Populist Period (Paperback)

There were intense social and political struggles during the period covered by this book. We think our politics today is intense, and it is, but it pales by comparison with the capital-labor struggles of the 1880's, 1890's, and 1900's decade. The book gets into the nitty-gritty of these fierce, unrelenting battles.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful history of the golden age of American political diversity, May 8, 2007

By	J. D. Seagraves (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Others: Third Parties During the Populist Period (Paperback)

With Volume II of his epic history of third parties in America, Darcy G. Richardson has outdone himself. While the first volume laid the foundation for the argument that the founders never intended there to be two major parties, this edition tells the story of minor parties' golden age. First, the book tackles Henry George - the father of modern "geolibertarianism" and the Single Tax movement. His influential campaigns in New York briefly united libertarians and socialists - a coalition that obviously could not last for long. The next several chapters deal with the rise of socialism and "populism" during the period, and the many strong third parties that emerged to advocate socialist and populist causes. This all culminates in the elections of 1896, 1900, and 1908, when the Democrats nominate "populist" William Jennings Bryan - who was also popular with many socialists - to head the national ticket. In retrospect, it is difficult to determine whether the Democrats co-opted the populist/socialist message, or the populists and socialists simply influenced the Democratic Party. Regardless, the results of the "fusion" are with us to this day. This book also focuses on the elevated terms of debate in the late 19th/ early 20th century, in which campaigns were waged and coalitions were formed over a subject as seemingly bland (today) as monetary policy. In fact, many Democrats defected from the national ticket when Bryan was nominated, forming the Gold Democrats. All in all, I learned a lot from reading this wonderful work, even though I already thought I was well-versed on the third-party politics of the time. Being a south-east Michigan resident right on the border with Toledo, I had no idea that the city had a popular independent mayor or that it figured so heavily in national politics at this time. Today, the city is bombarded with more political advertising than any other (due to Ohio's status as a "battleground state" and Michigan's proximity), so I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same. I cannot wait for Volume III!