"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. The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes, while their possessors despise the Republic. From the same prolific womb of governmental injustice we breed the two great classes — tramps and millionaires." — Omaha Platform, People's Party, 1892
The platform's diagnosis grew most directly from
- A
Urban tenement conditions documented by Riis
- B
Anti-Chinese agitation on the Pacific coast
- Ccheck_circle
Falling agricultural prices and tightening credit on western and southern farms
- D
Settlement house investigations of immigrant slums
Explanation
Sustained deflation, high railroad rates, and crop-lien debt drove farmers' alliance organizing that produced the People's Party.