By the 1880s, farmers had begun organizing and protesting, laying the blame for their economic struggles at the feet of industrialists and railroads. Organizations like the Grange began as ways for farmers to cooperate and support one another, but quickly expanded into politics. By the 1890s, farmers were joining with industrial workers to create the People’s Party or “Populist” Party, which briefly became a force in American politics. In this chapter we’ll learn about the ways farmers organized and advocated for themselves, and we’ll analyze why North Carolina’s populist experience was unique.

Section Contents

• The Rise of Populism
• Populists, Fusionists, and White Supremacists: North Carolina Politics from Reconstruction to the Election of 1898
• Leonidas Polk and the Farmers' Alliance
• Chatham County Farmers Protest
• Marion Butler and Fusion Politics
• George Henry White: a Biographical Sketch