What Were the Main Goals of the Populist Party?
The main goals of the populist party were to represent the common folk against the large corporate personalities, such as railroads, politicians and bankers including corporations themselves. The populist party was organized in St. Louis in 1892.
It was most often called the People’s Party since it stood for the common folk. Farmers, in particular, were behind the party and supported it. It was on the 116th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that the group held its first national convention to lay down the laws of their organization.
The Preamble to the Declaration of action began with, “The conditions which surround us best justify our cooperation; 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.” It then went on to discuss the ways in which the populist party intended to change America.
First, the party intended to take care of those in the labor force and to only allow wealth to go to the person who creates it rather than industry giants. The party followed the adage, “If any will not work, neither shall he eat.” They also wanted the people to take over ownership of the railroads. They had additional guidelines for transportation, finance and land.
