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Abbott,
N.C. "Silas A. Holcomb." Nebraska History. 26:187-200.
October 1945. Bakken,
Douglas A., ed. "Luna E. Kellie and the Farmers' Alliance." Nebraska
History. 50(2):185-205. Summer 1969.
A reminiscence. Mrs.
Kellie was Secretary of Farmers' Alliance, Nebraska, 1895-96, and very
active in Alliance politics. Barnhart,
John D. "Rainfall and the Populist Party in Nebraska." American
Political Science Review. 19:527-40. August 1925. Influence of drought on elections of 1890.
_____.
"The History of the Farmer's Alliance and of the People's Party in
Nebraska." Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard U, 1930. Barnhart,
John Donald. "The History of the Farmers' Alliance and of the
People's Party in Nebraska." Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University,
1930. ADD, S1977, (1930):
0308. Beal,
Annabel Lucille. "The Populist Party in Custer County, Nebraska: Its
Role in Local, State and National Politics." Ph.D. dissertation, U of
Nebraska, 1965. Dissertation
Abstracts, 26:05:2705. Bicha,
Karel D. Western Populism: Studies in an Ambivalent Conservatism.
Lawrence: Coronado Press, 1976. 163
pp. Western Populists were
essentially conservative, favoring the free market, limited government,
and state sovereignty. Includes
biographies of Jerry Simpson, William V. Allen, Lorenzo Lewelling, and
Davis Waite, although none are presented as a representative Populist. Analysis of legislative activity concludes Populists were no
more likely to introduce reform legislation than others, and the scope of
their reform interests was more limited than others.
Reviewers found analysis less than persuasive. Briel,
Ronald C. "Preface to Populism: A Social Analysis of Minor Parties in
Nebraska Politics, 1876-1890." Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Nebraska - Lincoln, 1981. DAI, 42, no. 01A, (1981): 0344. Compares and contrasts the nature of the electoral support
for agrarian third parties and the degree to which there was continuity in
their base of support from one election to another in Platte, Saunders,
Hall, and Lancaster counties. There
was no single political constituency for third parties.
Greenbackers, Antimonopolists, and Populists tended to have rural
occupations and pietistic ethnocultural affiliations. United Labor and Union labor supporters tended to have urban
occupations. Cherny,
Robert W. "Lawrence Goodwyn and Nebraska Populism: A Review
Essay." Great Plains Journal. 1(3):181-94. 1981.
Critical of Goodwyn on Nebraska Populism. _____.
Populism, Progressivism, and the Transformation of Nebraska Politics,
1885-1912. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1981.
Derived from Cherny's dissertation, "Populist and Progressive
in Nebraska: A Study of Nebraska Politics, 1885-1912." 646 p.
Columbia U, 1972. DAI 1975 35:10A:6627.
GOP dominated Nebraska politics in 1880s.
Populists stressed currency expansion.
Democrats focused primarily upon ethnocultural issues.
Thus, fusion meant no loss of principle.
Democrats and Populists were interested in different things. Populists were characterized by legislative inexperience and
opposition to the A.P.A. Foreign-stock
leaders and followers well represented in Populist ranks.
Quantification on ethnocultural, rural-urban, and economic
variables. Coletta,
Paolo E. "The Nebraska Democratic State Convention of April 13-14,
1892." Nebraska History. 39:317-33. December 1958. _____.
"A Tempest in a Teapot?--Governor Poynter's Appointment of William V.
Allen to the United States Senate." Nebraska History.
38:155-163. June 1957. Bryan's
support for Allen, Populist, 1899. ______.
"William Jennings Bryan and the Nebraska Senatorial Election of
1893." Nebraska History. 31:183‑203. September 1950. DeFrance,
Charles Q. "Some Recollections of Thomas H. Tibbles Populist Vice-Presidential
Candidate in 1904." Nebraska History Magazine. October-December
1932. Gildner,
Judith A. "An Organizational History of the Iowa Farmers' Alliance,
1881-1890." Master's thesis, Drake University, 1972. Glynn,
Herbert L. "The Urban Real Estate Boom in Nebraska During the
Eighties." Nebraska Law Bulletin. 6:228-54. November 1928.
6:455-81. May 1928. Boom is
followed by discontent. Halcoussis,
Dennis A. "The Economic Foundation of the United States Populist
Movement." Ph.D. dissertation (Economics), University of
Pennsylvania, 1992. DAI, 53,
no. 07A, (1992): 2491. Quantitative
measures of farmers' economic welfare in Kansas and Nebraska are
calculated in order to examine the motivation of Populists.
The author found that deflation had only a small impact on farmers
holding nominal interest rate mortgage contracts.
Measures of economic well-being are correlated with Populist
support. Harmer,
Marie U. "The Life of Charles H. Van Wyck." M.A. thesis, U of
Nebraska, 1929. Van Wyck was
prominent in Populist circles. Herscher,
Juliette M. "Early Third Party Movements in Nebraska." M.A.
thesis, U of Nebraska, 1931. Hewitt,
James W. "The Fatal Fall of Barrett Scott: Vigilantes on the Niobrara."
Great Plains Quarterly 1992 12(2): 107-120.
In the 1880's three vigilante groups operating near the Niobrara
River in north-central Nebraska hanged or shot several cattle thieves.
Scott, a Republican, embezzled county funds and fled to Mexico.
Upon returning to Nebraska, he was tried and found guilty.
But, the Nebraska Supreme Court suspended his sentence.
Vigilantees lynched him on December 31, 1894. Several men were tried, but not convicted. To some extent,
the Populist affiliation of the defense attorney played a role in the
decisions. Hurt,
R. Douglas. "Populist-Endorsed Judges and the Protection of Western
Labor." Journal of the West 1978 17(1): 19-26.
Though commonly associated with agrarianism, the Populist movement
also supported urban laborers (both out of philosophy and necessity) as
shown by the pro-labor rulings of populist-endorsed judges of state
supreme courts in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Washington, and Montana,
1893-1902. _____.
"The Populist Judiciary: Election Reform and Contested Offices."
Kansas History 1981 4(2): 130-141. The People's Party of the 1890's
understood that the reforms it supported would have to secure judicial
approval. For this reason, it endorsed the election of eight
friendly judicial candidates in Kansas, Montana, Washington, Nebraska, and
Colorado. In due course, these judges were called upon to decide cases
arising from laws and circumstances concerning the Australian ballot,
woman's suffrage, and contested offices. These Populist-endorsed judges
decided such cases on the basis of legal procedures and technicalities
rather than on the basis of ideology or partisan politics. Jeffery,
Mary Louise. "Young Radicals of the Nineties." Nebraska
History. 38:25-41. March 1957. Reminiscences
of agricultural distress in Nebraska, the popular support of the Farmers'
Alliance and the Populist Party, and the prose and poetry inspired by
them, 1890-92. Kilar,
Jeremy W. "Courthouse Politics, Loup City, Sherman County,
1887-1891." Nebraska History 1979 60(1): 36-57. Examines
factions, the Courthouse Gang and the Railroad Gang, in Loup City
politics. By the end of the 1880s, they merged into partisan party
politics with the farmers casting aside urban factions for the Farmers'
Alliance in search of honest, representative administration. Klotsche,
Johannes. "The Political Career of Samuel Maxwell." Nebraska
Law Bulletin. 6:439-54. May 1928.
Maxwell was a Republican judge who switched to the Populist Party.
Kuester,
Frieda. "The Farmers' Alliance in Nebraska." M.A. thesis, U of
Nebraska, 1927. Lindsay,
Charles. "Populism and Politics: The Start of George W. Norris'
Political Career." Nebraska History. 42:75-94. June 1961. Lowitt,
Richard. "Populism and Politics: The Start of George W. Norris'
Political Career." Nebraska History. 42:75-94. June 1961. Luebke,
Frederick C. "Main Street and the Countryside: Patterns of Voting in
Nebraska During the Populist Era." Nebraska History 1969
50(3): 257-275. Challenges
David F. Trask's theory (presented in the June 1965 issue of Nebraska
History) that the Panic of 1893 caused the small businessmen of the towns
to identify "the large business concerns of the North and East as the
sources of their economic distress," or to place '"Main Street'
in the same camp with the countryside."
The author finds that there was not a significant town and country
conflict in the pre-Populist election of 1888.
The "distinctive qualities of rural and small town voting,
apparently (were) precipitated by the Populist movement, (and) continued
almost as strongly after the waning of the Populist party."
"Town precincts were remarkably persistent in their attachment
to the Republican party throughout the Populist era." Luebke,
Frederick C. Immigrants and Politics: The Germans in Nebraska,
1880‑1900. 220 p. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1969.
Good section on immigrants and Populist Party. Manley,
Robert N. "A Note on Government and Agriculture: A Nineteenth Century
Nebraska View." Nebraska History. 45(3):237-52. September
1964. Populist demands
(particularly extension of federal authority in the interests of
agriculture, and the regulation and even ownership of railroads) were not
radical minority demands, but demands that had earlier been voiced by
Nebraska GOP. McPartland,
Edward James. "A Study of Rural-Urban Conflict in the Nebraska
Legislature." 193 pp. Ph.D. dissertation, U of Nebraska, 1970.
Dissertation Abstracts, 31:4233-A. Monkkonen,
Eric. "Can Nebraska or Any other State Regulate Railroads? Smyth v.
Ames, 1898." Nebraska History. 54(3):365-82. 1973.
Nelsen,
Jane Taylor. ed. A Prairie Populist: The Memoirs of Luna Kellie
Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1992. Olson,
James C. History of Nebraska. 372 p. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P,
1955. Chapter 25, "The
Populist Revolt," contains other useful background material.
______.
J. Sterling Morton: Pioneer, Statesman, Founder of Arbor Day. 430
p., illus. Lincoln: U of
Nebraska P, 1942. Ostler,
Jeffrey. Prairie Populism: The Fate of Agrarian Radicalism in Kansas,
Nebraska, and Iowa, 1880-1892. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas,
1993. Derived from, "The
Fate of Populism: Agrarian Radicalism and State Politics in Kansas,
Nebraska, and Iowa, 1880-1892." PhD dissertation, University of Iowa,
1990. 487 pages.
DAI, v. 51-12A, p. 4287. Agricultural
crisis caused a political crisis in Kansas and Nebraska, but not in Iowa.
In Kansas and Nebraska, the GOP overwhelmingly dominated politics. Rejection by those who governed the Kansas and Nebraska
political systems explains the higher level of farmer radicalism in those
states. The competitiveness
of Iowa politics caused each major party to accommodate farmer complaints
for fear the other might engross the farmer vote and leave their own party
as a permanent minority. The
success of the Iowa Farmers Alliance in securing an elective railroad
commission in 1888, committed Alliance leaders to a web of political
obligations that bound them to the major parties.
Working within the contemporary political system likewise explains
Iowa Alliancemen's failure to adopt a comprehensive economic program or a
substantial critique of the existing political order.
_____.
"Why the Populist Party Was Strong in Kansas and Nebraska But Weak in
Iowa." Western Historical Quarterly 1992 23(4): 451-474.
Economic hardship is inadequate to explain why the People's Party
was successful in the election of 1892 in Nebraska and Kansas but not in
neighboring Iowa. A third party developed in Nebraska and Kansas but not
in Iowa because there the Iowa Farmers' Alliance-led reform movement
achieved some influence within the two-party system. In Kansas and
Nebraska, the Democratic Party remained weak and irrelevant.
Unable to gain the support of the Republicans, the reformists
turned to the People's Party for help, sweeping the 1892 elections. Parsons,
Stanley B., Jr. The Populist Context: Rural Versus Urban Power on a
Great Plains Frontier. 205 p. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1973.
Derived from "The Populist Context: Nebraska Farmers and Their
Antagonists, 1882-1895." 352 p. Ph.D. dissertation, U of Iowa, 1964.
Dissertation Abstracts, 25:04:2477. Farmers
were alienated from and hostile to village businessmen and professionals
who did not recognize or deal with farmers' real economic problems.
Populists downplayed divisive ethnocultural issues because their
thrust was thoroughly economic. _____.
"Who Were the Nebraska Populists?" Nebraska History. June
1963. 44(2):83-99. Based on a
analysis of seven Nebraska counties.
Nebraska Populists were often the product of local issues and
economic discontent. The core
group was wheat farmers who were "particularly vulnerable to economic
crisis." Perkey,
Elton A. "The First Farmers' Alliance in Nebraska." Nebraska
History 1976 57(2): 242-247. Indicates
that the birthplace of the Farmers' Alliance in Nebraska was a schoolhouse
located a few miles north of Filley in Gage County.
One of its organizers, Jabez Burrows, became president of the
organization in 1887, and then edited its newspaper, the Alliance,
until his death in 1899. Scott,
Mittie Y. "The Life and Political Career of William Vincent
Allen." M.A. thesis, U of Nebraska, 1927.
Populist, U.S. Senator, 1893-1901. Sheldon,
Addison E. "Nebraskans I Have Known: John Holbrook Powers." Nebraska
History. 1931-39. October-November 1938.
Populist candidate for governor, 1890.
_____.
"Nebraskans I Have Known: William Vincent Allen." Nebraska
History. 19:191-206. July-September 1938.
Populist, U.S. Senator, 1893-1901. Storms,
Helen. "The Nebraska State Election of 1890." M.A. thesis, U of
Nebraska, 1924. Thompson,
J.M. "The Farmers' Alliance in Nebraska: Something of Its Origin,
Growth, and Influence." Proceedings and Collections of the
Nebraska State Historical Society. 5:199-206. 1902.
Author was Nebraska Allianceman. Trask,
David Stephens. "Anti-Populism in Nebraska." M.A. thesis, U of
Nebraska, 1968.
_____.
"Formation and Failure: The Populist Party in Seward County,
1890‑1892." Nebraska History. 51(3):281‑301. Fall
1970. Analyzes Populist Party in Seward County, 1890-92, focusing
on the inhabitants and conditions to understand why the farmer forsook
agriculture for politics. _____.
"A Natural Partnership: Nebraska's Populists and Democrats and the
Development of Fusion." Nebraska History 1975 56(3): 419-438.
Discusses the movement for fusion between Nebraska Democrats and
Populists, consummated successfully in 1894. The party situation in the
1890's explains how the Populists in Nebraska accepted fusion with the
Democrats behind Bryan before free silver became the dominant issue. _____.
"Nebraska Populism as a Response to Environmental and Political
Problems." in Brian W. Blouet and Frederick C. Luebke, eds. The
Great Plains: Environment and Culture. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1979.
Nebraska Populism developed during a period of simultaneous crises
in agriculture and politics. Farmers who attempted to raise corn and hogs
in dry regions of Nebraska faced economic disaster when drought occurred.
When they sought relief through political means, they found the Republican
Party complacent. The
Democratic Party, meanwhile, was preoccupied with the prohibition issue. A
new party seemed likeliest to provide help. _____.
"The Nebraska Populist Party: A Social and Political Analysis."
Ph.D. dissertation, University of Nebraska, 1971.
Dissertation Abstracts, 32:11A:6357.
_____.
"A Note on the Politics of Populism." Nebraska History
1965 46(2): 157-161. Hypothesizes
that Populism was an alliance of farmers and small-town businessmen
affected by the Panic of 1893 and critical of big business. The author
also suggests that these businessmen Populists later became Progressives
and provide continuity between the two movements. Wach,
Edwin R. "Nebraska Agriculture and the State: 1870-1890." M.A.
thesis, U of Nebraska, 1968. Wagner,
Mary Jo. "Farms, Families, and Reform: Women in the Farmers' Alliance
and Populist Party." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oregon, 1986.
DAI, 47, no. 07A, (1986). Women
contributed to the organization, philosophy, and political platforms of
the Farmers' Alliance and Populist Party.
Often, their writings and speeches espoused traditional female
values. They left home for
long periods of time to campaign for the new party, often emphasizing
temperance and woman suffrage. They
did not perceive a contradiction between domesticity and political work,
but incorporated the ideology of domesticity into the larger goals of
Populism. Although Populist
women did not win suffrage and temperance planks at national Populist
conventions, they did acquire valuable political experience in the public
sphere and form important networks with other women. Walker,
Samuel. "Populism and Industrialism: The Ideology of the Official
Organ of the Nebraska Populist Movement." Ph.D. dissertation, U of
Nebraska, Omaha, 1970. Walker,
Samuel. "George Howard Gibson, Christian Socialist Among the
Populists." Nebraska History 1974 55(4): 553-572.
Gibson served as editor of the Populist official organ in Nebraska,
the Alliance-Independent (which he renamed the Wealth Makers)
from October 1893 to January 1896. He proved to be too extreme for most
Nebraska Populists, who wished to stress free-silver and fusion. He
relinquished his editorship of the paper to lead a group of Nebraskans to
found the Christian Commonwealth Colony in Georgia. Zimmerman,
William F. "Legislative History of Nebraska Populism,
1890‑1895." M.A. thesis, U of Nebraska, 1926. Zwick,
Richard Charles. "The Agrarian Ethos in Willa Cather's Nebraska
Stories and Novels: From Memory to Vision." 223 p. Ph.D.
dissertation, U of Nebraska, 1982. DAI
1982 43(3):804-805-A
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