Populism was a political and social movement during the 1890s, gathered around the American
People's party. Political mobilisation of Populism was primarily agrarian in nature (although it
included many labour and petty bourgeois elements). It came from the Farmers’ Alliance and
similar farmers’ organisations, which arose from the pressure that the financial capital and
industrialisation inflicted upon American agriculture after the Civil war. Third-party
movements (such as Greenbacksim which had been fighting the influence of monopolies,
especially in the sphere of distribution (i. e. railways, telegraphs etc.) in previous decades,
played an important role in the creation of populism. In the South, which was deeply
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characterised by the restoration of racial hierarchies after the end of the Reconstruction,
Populism formed unique cross-racial alliances, which were eventually unsuccessful. In the
second half of the 19th century, populism became progressively identified with the monetary
demand of free silver and its forces were lagrely channelled into the Democratic party. The
fusion of the Democrats and the Populists was defeated in the presidential election of 1896 and
by the dawn of 20th century, the populist movement and the People’s party had entirely
subsided
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