"Chicago Nomination"
Populists generally fell into two groups: fusionists and middle-of-the-roaders. In 1896, fusionists (mostly westerners) wanted unite pro-silver forces and form a coalition with William Jennings Bryan and the Democrats. Mid-roaders (mostly southerners) opposed veering off the road to reform for expedient coalition victories and advocated a straight Populist ticket. Bryan's Democratic running mate, Arthur M. Sewall, was a banker and capitalist from Maine. This made him particularly obnoxious to Populists, and gave mid-roaders a strong argument against endorsing the Democratic ticket. In the end, the People's Party nominated Bryan for President and Populist Thomas E. Watson for vice president. It looked like a compromise, but really pleased very few. 36 of 40 | Index | More on Subject | Previous | Next | |