FHSU Home
Forsyth Library Home
Digital Collections Home
Thesis Home
Browse Theses
Log in
|
Help
Search
Advanced Search
Find results with:
error div
Add another field
Search by date
from
after
before
on
to
Searching collections:
Master's Theses Collection
Add or remove collections
Home
A tempest in prairie politics: the rise of Populism in Ellis County, Kansas
Reference URL
Share
To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document
To embed this object, paste this HTML in website
A tempest in prairie politics: the rise of Populism in Ellis County, Kansas
View Description
This item is restricted to only allow viewing of the metadata.
Description
Author
Tittel
,
Brian
Title
A
tempest
in
prairie
politics
: the
rise
of
Populism
in
Ellis
County
,
Kansas
Degree Program
History
Abstract
This
study
,
based
largely
on the
extensive
use
of
primary
source
materials
,
including
federal
and
state
census
records
,
state
agency
reports
,
state
and
local
election
returns
, and
newspaper
accounts
,
addresses
the
rise
of the
populist
movement
in
Ellis
County
,
Kansas
.
During
the
spring
and
summer
of
1890
,
Kansans
witnessed
the
rise
of an
agrarian
reform
movement
that would have
considerable
influence
on their
state's
political
future
. The
Populist
movement
,
drawing
support
especially
from the
Farmers
'
Alliance
,
sought
to
address
the
plight
of
farmers
, and in this
effort
it
embarked
o
n
a
political
program
by
establishing
the
People's
party
. In
Ellis
County
,
Populism
won
a
substantial
following
, for
conditions
there
proved
favorable
for its
success
.
Numerous
social
events
and the
organizations
that
sponsored
them
provided
residents
the
opportunity
to
discuss
their
views
on the
major
social
,
economic
, and
political
concerns
of the
community
. A
significant
migration
of
residents
from this
western
Kansas
County
underscored
the
many
difficulties
faced
by its
citizenry
. The
increasing
cost
of
living
in
1890
, the
year's
crop
failure
, and the
effects
of the
McKinley
Tariff
and of
banking
and
rail
way
policies
all
contributed
to the
hardships
experienced
by
many
county
residents
.
Added
to these
factors
, the
political
climate
of the
county
proved
favorable
for the
success
of a
strong
third
party
.
Neither
the
Republican
nor
Democratic
Party
held
an
overwhelming
control
over
the
political
affairs
of
Ellis
County
. Its
German-Russian
population
,
mostly
Democratic
in
political
persuasion
,
insured
that
Republican
victories
would not be
foregone
conclusions
.
Realizing
that the
national
political
parties
had
so
often
failed
to
meet
their
expectations
,
many
disgruntled
farmers
looked
for
solutions
to their
plight
and
turned
to
support
the
People's
party
during
the
election
campaign
of
1890
.
It
was
during
this
campaign
that the
newspaper
editors
of
Hays
, the
county
seat
of
Ellis
County
, were
forced
t
o
address
the
rise
of
Populism
and the
creation
of the
People's
party
. Here,
George
W
.
Sweet
,
editor
of the
Democratic
Times
,
Harry
Freese
,
editor
of the
Hays
City
Free
Press
,
George
P
.
Griffith
,
editor
of the
Republican
, and
W.P
.
Montgomery
,
editor
of the
Hays
City
Sentinel
, were
prompted
to
re-examine
their
traditional
political
stances
.
Generally
, these
editors
supported
the
Populist
movement
as
long
as
it
remained
outside
the
realm
of
politics
.
Once
the
Populists
had
established
their
own
political
party
,
however
, these
editors
,
despite
the
fact
that the
People's
party
addressed
many
of the
concerns
faced
by
t
he
citizenry
of
Ellis
County
,
expressed
apprehension
about
the
Populist
movement
and
especially
about
its
involvement
in
Kansas
politics
. The
four
editors
of
Hays
newspapers
had
little
or
no
inclination
to
support
the
People's
party
.
Sweet
initially
showed
signs
of
supporting
the
Populists
, but his
objective
had been to
woo
them into the
camp
of the
Democratic
Party
.
Once
he
realized
that the
Populists
insisted
on
following
their
own
political
road
,
Sweet
dared
not
endorse
them, for
such
a
move
would have
admitted
that the
Democrats
had
failed
to
address
the
farmers
'
demands
.
Hence
,
Sweet
focused
his
attention
on
gaining
support
for
Democrats
.
Freese
,
meanwhile
, had
cautioned
the
Populists
about
entering
into
politics
.
When
they
did
, his
own
political
convictions
wavered
.
Though
a
Republican
,
Freese
demonstrated
through
his
editorials
a
growing
support
for the
new
party
by the
latter
stages
of the
campaign
.
Although
he
never
did
endorse
the
People's
party
in the
1890
campaign
,
Freese
, in the
years
to
follow
,
did
join
the
ranks
of the
Populists
. The
other
two
Republican
editors
,
Griffith
and
Montgomery
,
initially
praised
the
activities
of the
Populists
, but they
attacked
them
upon
hearing
of the
formation
of the
People's
party
. These
two
editors
tended
to
view
this
new
party
as a
threat
to
Republican
dominance
in
Kansas
politics
and as an
ally
of their
traditional
rival
, the
Democratic
party
.
Date Original
1992
Publisher
Fort Hays State University
Relation
Digital reproduction of the Fort Hays State University Theses Collection.
Type
Text
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
TittelBrian_1992_web.pdf
Source
LD2652 .T5 H5 T58 1992
Language
eng
Relation-Requires
Adobe Reader is required to view this item. Download at
http://get.adobe.com/reader/.
Rights
Copyright 1992 Brian Tittel
Access Requirements
Off campus access to Forsyth Library Resources -
http://www.fhsu.edu/library/electronic/off-campus-access/
you wish to report:
Your comment:
Your Name:
Submit
Cancel
...
Back to top
Select the collections to add or remove from your search
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Select All Collections
A
Academic Leadership Journal
C
Campus Art Collection
Collyer Community Alliance Association Collection
D
Dr. Tim Johnson's Historical Kansas Collection
F
Franklin Letters, Kansas Maps and Other Rarities
G
George Sternberg Photograph Collection
J
Journal of Business and Leadership
K
Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Exploration
Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Exploration - Blueprints
L
Lyman Dwight Wooster Photograph Collection
M
Master's Theses Collection
Master of Liberal Studies Research Papers
R
Reveille Yearbook Collection
S
Stafford County Historical Museum Collection
Sternberg Museum of Natural History
500
You have selected:
1
OK
Cancel