American History: Harrison’s Presidency Marked by Anger Over Trusts

09 June 2010

The first troops enter Homestead, Pennsylvania, to end the strike at the Carnegie Company

BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

Eighteen ninety-two was a presidential election year in the United States. In that year, most parts of the American economy were expanding. But one part was not doing well: agriculture. The result was the birth of a new political party. It was called the People's Party. Its members were called Populists.

This week in our series, Stan Busby and Maurice Joyce tell about the Populists, and how they campaigned against the Republicans and Democrats in the election.

STAN BUSBY: In the late eighteen eighties, a North Carolina farming publication described America's economy this way:

"There is something radically wrong in our industrial system. The railroads are making much money. Yet agriculture is failing. The banks are doing great business. Yet agriculture is failing. Towns and cities grow. Yet agriculture is failing. Wages were never so high. Yet agriculture is failing."

Historians give four major reasons why agriculture was failing in the late eighteen eighties. One was the high cost of transportation. Second was high taxes. Third was falling prices for agricultural products. And fourth was the high cost of borrowing money.