In a one paragraph response, explain why populist political beliefs began to take hold in the 1890s, and identify at least two achievements of the populist movement

Question

use this and this only.
The Farmers’ Alliance emerged in the wake of the Grange movement. The Farmers’ Alliance was formed from regional groups who represented farmers’ interests. In 1890, the Southern Alliance, which was based in Texas, had over 100,000 members. It joined with the Northwest Alliance and the Colored Alliance to form a national alliance. The Colored Alliance was the largest African American organization then existing in the United States. It started in Texas but quickly spread throughout the South until it had over 1 million members. All told, the Farmers’ Alliance brought together over 2.5 million members—1.5 million white and 1 million African American. Nearly 250,000 women also joined the Farmers' Alliance movement. They shared concerns over the economic plight of farmers. They also hoped to find allies in the fight for women’s voting rights. The chance to vote and run for office within the alliance gave hope to many women who wanted the same right as men to participate in the U.S. government. Goals of the Farmers’ Alliance The Farmer's Alliance movement shared many goals with the original Grange. It wanted to regulate railroad prices and use silver to create an inflationary monetary policy. The most ambitious goal of the Farmers’ Alliance was its push for a subtreasury plan. Under this plan, the federal government would store farmers’ crops as collateral on loans worth 80% of the crop’s value. This would give farmers cash-on-hand to pay debts and purchase goods. Storing crops would also boost farm prices by influencing supply and demand in the market. When prices rose, farmers could withdraw their crops to sell at a higher price. Then they could repay the government loan and still make a profit. Economists thought the plan had merit. However, the government never acted on it. Some members of Congress felt that the government should not make loans to farmers. They argued that there was no guarantee that storing crops would lead to price increases. The government’s refusal to act on the proposal left many farmers wondering how they would ever repay their debts.

Answer 1

Populist political beliefs began to take hold in the 1890s primarily due to the economic struggles faced by farmers, who were adversely affected by fluctuating prices, high railroad rates, and mounting debt. The Farmers' Alliance emerged from regional groups as a collective voice for these agricultural interests, eventually uniting over 2.5 million members, including significant representation of both white and African American farmers, as well as women advocating for suffrage. Key achievements of the populist movement included the push for regulatory reforms on railroad prices, aimed at alleviating the financial burdens on farmers, and the ambitious subtreasury plan, which proposed that the federal government provide loans to farmers by storing their crops as collateral, thus enabling them to stabilize their finances and potentially increase market prices. Despite the government's failure to enact these measures, the movement highlighted the urgent concerns of rural Americans and laid the groundwork for future political efforts.