Populist Party: Omaha Platform

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The platform begins with a preamble that enumerates the ills that, in the view of Populists, beset the nation, among them corruption, voter intimidation, poverty, and wealth inequality. The platform then identifies a key source of the problem: the gold standard. Because the value of the nation's currency was pegged to gold rather than the more abundant silver, the supply of money was limited, enriching bondholders, creditors (“usurers”), bankers, business trusts, and wealthy industrialists at the expense of farmers and urban workers. The platform states that the Democratic and Republican Parties have ignored these issues, requiring the formation of a new political party “to restore the government of the Republic to the hands of ‘the plain people'.”

The platform itself begins with three propositions bearing on the union of labor forces, the belief that “wealth belongs to him who creates it,” and a call for nationalization of the railroads. Under the heading “Money,” the platform advocates an expansion of the money supply, a graduated income tax, and the establishment of postal savings banks. Under “Transportation,” the platform again recommends nationalization of the railroads at a time when the perception was that railroad barons were gouging farmers and others with indefensibly high rates. Under “Land,” the platform advocates returning land owned by “aliens”—that is, people from out of state—to the people and states that land should not be used for speculative purposes.

The document concludes with an expression of “resolutions expressive of the sentiment of this Convention.” Among these sentiments are a demand for free and fair elections, including the secret ballot; the proposal that money collected from a graduated income tax be used to lessen the tax burden on the nation's domestic industries; and support for the payment of fair and liberal pensions to Union soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. Additionally, the platform supports higher taxes on imports, a restriction on “undesirable emigration” (at a time when more immigrants from eastern and southern Europe were coming to the United States), and shorter work hours (particularly the eight-hour workday).

The platform condemns the “maintenance of a large standing army of mercenaries, known as the Pinkerton system.” This is a reference to the Pinkerton detective agency, which was often employed to disrupt and harass labor unions and workingmen's associations. The “recent invasion of the Territory of Wyoming” probably refers to the efforts of the federal government, in concert with the Pinkerton agency, to interrupt the organizational efforts of the United Mine Workers in that territory.

The platform backs the greater use of referendums and local ballot initiatives, a single term for the nation's president and vice president, and the direct election of senators and opposes corporate subsidies. The document closes with a statement of support for the Knights of Labor, the labor union that was involved in a dispute with clothing manufacturers in Rochester, New York.

The document differs significantly from the traditional party platforms of the Democrats and Republicans in a major way—it does not address foreign policy in any meaningful fashion. Where the Democrats offered support for Irish independence and condemned Russian persecution of religious minorities and where Republicans called for an expanded navy, the Populists remained silent even as both the major parties endorsed the building of a canal through Nicaragua to create a shorter shipping route from the Atlantic to the Pacific and vice versa. The Populists remained a party that was focused mainly on domestic issues.