From Regional To National:A Study On The Evolution And Characteristics Of The American Populist Movement In Late 19^th Century

After the American Civil War,domestic economy developed fast with the drive of the Second Industrial Revolution,and a traditional agricultural country began to develop into an exuberant industrial country.The old middle class led by peasants faced different challenges in the new era and protected their interests dependent upon a range of political and economic activities.In that process,two qualitative changes happened gradually,namely the transformation of economic struggles into political ones and development of faction-free into party politics which are associated with state power.In addition,their reforms provided valuable experiences for the Progressive Movement launched later under the lead of the urban middle class.The Populist Movement studied in this paper was just the climax of the peasant movement that happened after the American Civil War.This political party,which represented benefits of peasants and agricultural producers,launched a political movement for improving their social status together with urban workers under the lead of elites from the middle class by extensively absorbing the vulnerable of the United States,in order to help peasants avoid impacts of urbanization and industrialization for the final purpose of seeking favorable solutions to social malpractices.Chapter 1 focuses on introducing the social backgrounds that existed before the rise of the Populist Movement.Analyzing the impacts of railways,capital globalization and agricultural mechanization upon agriculture,it summarizes the evolution of related agricultural organizations.Chapter 2 highlights regional and local characteristics of the Populist Movement.The United States has many continents,which are in different conditions and face varying problems.Hence,a comparative analysis is performed on several continents to explain the movement comprehensively from multiple perspectives.Chapter 3 particularly discusses that the Populist Movement was national and holistic.Based on two time points(namely1892 and 1896),it microscopically describes relevant historical events.Besides,it compares the political propositions and programmatic documents before and after both time points,so as to analyze reasons for the rise and the fall of the Populist Movement.The last chapter highlights the impacts of the Populist Movement upon the cultural field which impelled the development of American nationalism and the advancement of mass politics.