LAD #19: Populist Party Platform, 1892 (July 4, 1892)

The Populist Party arose in the 1890s as third party independent of Democrats and Republicans. They opposed the "concentrated capital" of banks and big businesses. In the preamble it is made clear that the party wants to make change in the U. S., as it sees corruption in elections, low wages given to the workingman, and the national power to create money held by bond-holders. The party wants to dissolve the gap between the millionaires and the poor workers. In its platform the party states three points, that it wants permanent labor unions, wealth belongs to the person who creates it, and that the government should own and control the railroads. They desire the nation’s money to be in the hands of the people and want more of it to be circulated. Land is the heritage of the settlers and should not be monopolized. The next part of the platform is the sentiments which restate what the Populist Party wants, including fair elections and shorten work hours.