Ben Kavalec

September 13, 2007

Populist Part & Hull House

Populist Party
• grew out of the agrarian revolt that took place after the fall of agricultural prices
following the Panic of 1873
• the Populist Party was formed by the member of the Farmers’ Alliance in 1889-
1890.
• in 1892, the Populist presidential candidate, James B. Weaver, received over one
million votes
• the party flourished throughout the Southwest and Great Plains
• in 1896, the Populist presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan, lost to the
Democrats by 600,000 votes
• in 1900, the Populist voters backed Bryan again, but he still came up short
• in 1904 and 1908, the Populists elected Thomas E. Watson, and after these
elections the party ceased to exist

Hull House
• was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in Chicago
• it was one of the first settlement houses in the U.S., and eventually became the
largest, growing to 13 buildings
• the main purpose was to provide social and education opportunities for working
class people in the surrounding neighborhood, mostly immigrants
• during the first two decades of operation, it attracted many females who later
became prominent figures in the city
• later, the settlements began to offer services to ameliorate poverty
• the actual house used to be a mansion, and was bought by Addams to conduct her
experiment
• by 1920, the it had about 500 settlements
• Addams ran the house until her death in 1935, but her work is still being
continued to this day