Populist Party Essay

Voting Crisis 4 ~ Passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Populist Party Convention During the fourth crisis, we held very strong beliefs as Western Homesteaders. Because we have little wealth to our names, we felt strongly that the average American consumer should be guaranteed protection against abominations such as monopolies and trusts, that raise prices and force small businesses to close up shop. Furthermore, we were invigorated by the creation of the Populist Party, which we though perfectly matched our beliefs and aligned with the goals we set for the United States of America. Thus, during the fourth crisis, we voted for leaders that supported the Sherman Antitrust Act in addition to supporting the Populist Party.

Jane Addams: We voted for Jane Addams, whose

Specifically, Carnegie claimed that the act was an infringement upon the free market ideology that the United States was built upon, whereas it actually was a supporter of this notion, breaking up large monopolies and allowing for all businesses to compete. Moreover, Carnegie claimed that the Populist Party was a “fantasy” and made up by uneducated farmers; we did not take this comment lightly. Thus, due to a large disparity in beliefs, we voted against Andrew Carnegie during the fourth crisis.

Samuel Gompers: During the fourth crisis, we abstained from supporting or opposing Samuel Gompers. We agreed with him on the belief that the Sherman Antitrust Act was a necessity; for instance Gompers argued that without the act, the American consumer is placed at great risk. However, Gompers disagreed with the principles of the Populist Party, claiming that it put American industry and capitalism at risk. Therefore, due to agreeing on some ideas and disagreeing on others, we abstained during our vote for Samuel Gompers during the fourth