History Of Populism

Getting into the history of populism, populists go way back into the late 1800’s. It all began during the rise of the Greenback-Labor Party. During this time the populist party began to form and eventually started to increase. In addition to demanding free silver coinage, the populists called for a host of other changes. They demanded a graduated income tax, whereby individuals with higher incomes would pay higher taxes. The populists wanted political reforms as well and demanded a constitutional amendment allowing for the direct election of Senators.