38. Two Industries That Show Abundant Signs of Revival  

Source:  Norman Peoples Voice (OK), July 22, 1898

Prosperity, which slowly emerged after the 1896 election, also played some role in destroying the People's Party.  This cartoon, however, suggests that the return to full prosperity was not as rapid as those in power claimed.  The price of cotton, for instance, bottomed out in 1898, at the very time the Populist Party met almost universal disaster at the polls in the South.  Prosperity may have played some role in the demise of Populism.  Wheat prices, for instance, did climb beginning in 1896.  The major gold discoveries of the late 1890s slowly began to reverse deflation.  But, prosperity was not the only factor in the demise of the People's Party.

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