Question.959 - Read Chapters 16 & 17 and “The ‘Omaha Platform” of the People’s Party (1892)” and respond to the following questions. Make sure to reference specific passages from the document and/or textbook to support your discussion: According to the platform, what are the major issues facing the nation? How do the Populists propose to use the power of the government to correct these problems? What proposals in the platform eventually became a reality?
Answer Below:
The People's Party established the "Omaha Platform" in 1892, emphasizing the nation's key challenges, such as economic injustice, governmental corruption, and the consolidation of power in a few. The platform stated, "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, and touches even the ermine of the bench." (para. 1) To address these flaws, the Populists recommended utilizing government authority to remedy them. They specifically advocated for direct senatorial elections, the use of initiative and referendum, the implementation of a graduated income tax, the development of a sub-treasury system, and the adoption of policies that would assist farmers and workers. The platform stated, "We believe that the power of government—in other words, of the people—should be expanded ... as rapidly and as far as the good sense of an intelligent people and the teachings of experience shall justify, to the end that oppression, injustice, and poverty shall eventually cease in the land." (para. 8) Many of the suggestions on the platform were finally realized. For example, the Seventeenth Amendment, ratified in 1913, established the direct election of senators, and numerous states adopted the initiative and referendum systems. The Sixteenth Amendment established the progressive income tax in 1913, and the sub-treasury system was primarily implemented in 1913 with the foundation of the Federal Reserve System. Furthermore, several legislation that aided farmers and workers, such as labor rights and monopoly restrictions, were enacted during the Progressive Era. Reference: The “Omaha Platform” of the People’s Party (1892). The American Yawp Reader. (n.d.). http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/16-capital-and-labor/the-omaha-platform-of-the-peoples-party-1892/.More Articles From History
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