Populism

The populists had many reasons for resisting the economic developments that threatened them in the late 19th century. Although some historians believe that populism was potentially antidemocratic and dangerous, overall I believe it was legitimate resistance to oppression. Historians like Richard Hofstadter have argued that it rested on a romanticized and obsolete vision of the role of farmers in American society, but populist demands were legitimate. The role of farmers may have diminished in the economy, but their importance was still great, because people always need food to survive. Their suggestions of government-owned warehouses may have been on the extreme side, but their intentions of trying to avoid the new threat of a modern capitalist economy was reasonable.