The Populist Party's fight against corporate control in late-nineteenth-century America

Populist Party Movement in American History

The Populist Party movement emerged in the late 19th century, an organization created to respond to the social and economic needs of rural communities, who are so often marginalized by the blatant display of connivance between the state and business sector of American society. As an agrarian movement, the Populist Party's primary objective is to bring into public discourse the oppression of farmers and inhabitants of rural communities, citizens of the country who felt that state controlled-agencies function not for the benefit of the civil society but for the benefit of the business entities themselves. Centering on the implementation of regulations concerning the conduct of commerce and trade in the country, these federal agencies such as federal banks operate in order to favor businesses rather than the agrarian workers. The Populist Party proposed specific resolutions, called Granger Resolutions, are proposals to ensure that injustices claimed by the Party be gradually eliminated in the American political system. One of the most important propositions that the Populists created in order to induce social reform in the extant American political system states the following: "Resolved, That we believe the State did not and could not confer any of its sovereign power upon any corporation, and that now is the most favorable time to settle the question, so that it may never be hereafter misunderstood that a State can not create a corporation it can not thereafter control." The need for reform in the political system illustrates how, despite the numerous legislation passed to ensure the honest conduct of business in the country, corporations are able to control particular sectors of the society, specifically, the poor farmers living in rural communities.