Curated OER
Populism & the Election of 1896
Populism and the rise and fall of the Populist Party are the topics of this presentation, which details the Presidential Election of 1896 and the role of silver. Detailing main points with clever political cartoons and informative maps,...
Curated OER
The Populists Movement 1880s - 1890s
What is it about the Populists and The Wizard of Oz? Use hard facts about the Populist Movement to find out. The presentation provides good background information on the Populists, their political platform, and life in the 1890s. It then...
Northern Illinois University
Illinois in the Gilded Age: 1896: The Cross of Gold
This is a very informative look at the politics involved in the campaign of 1896 where one of the main issues was the conflict between the gold standard and free silver. Read about the results of the election and the defeat of Populist...
Vassar College
Vassar College: 1896: The Currency Question: The Gold Standard
This site is provided for by the Vassar College. "The bitter controversy surrounding the issues of `Free silver' and `sound money,' so central to the 1896 campaign, has proved difficult for historians to explain." However, this 1896, a...
Charles I. Kelly and Lawrence E. Kelly
American History: Election of 1896: It Came Down to a Question of Money
This program, part of The Making of a Nation from Voice of America gives a very good description of the issues in the presidential campaign of 1896. Learn about the differences between the gold bugs and silverites, a third party...
Harp Week
Harp Week: The Cleveland Record
Grover Cleveland's second term in office was problematic, which affected the election of 1896. Read about the economic depression of 1893, the labor unrest, Coxey's army, and controversial Supreme Court decisions that were handed down...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Texas Joins the Battle: Cartoon, Houston Daily Post, March 30, 1896
Here is a political cartoon showing showing the split between those who favored the gold standard and those favoring the silver standard, and how the Populist Party took advantage of that split. Learn what this means by taking a look at...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Politics in Gilded Age 1870 1900: Social and Labor Unrest in the 1890s
Learn about the factors that helped the Populist Party gain followers and what caused it to lose them after the 1896 presidential election.