40. They Can't Phase Her                        

Source:  Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO), November 28, 1898

The end result of victory over Spain and acquisition of an empire was a rise in nationalistic pride that helped silence the most severe criticism of reformers, for a while at least.  Note that while this cartoon appeared in a Populist newspaper, it was taken from a non-Populist source, the New York Journal, a sure sign that the Populist Revolt was nearing its end. 

 

Afterward

Many have noted that much of the Populist's Omaha Platform of 1892 became law during the first two decades of the twentieth century (anti-monopoly, banking and currency reform, election reform).  This suggests that Populist's reforms were not unreasonable.  But, these reforms were adopted piecemeal, and did not achieve the egalitarian society Populists sought.  A good subject for debate would be the relationship between Populism and the reforms of America's Progressive Era (ca. 1900-1920).  

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