Populism: The Most Successful Failure in American History

Few American political movements predate Populism. The phrase would not be turned into a political party until the late 19th century, though its ideals have existed since the birth of the nation. As the author of the Declaration of Independence and a father of the American Constitution, Thomas Jefferson was the first "populist" to hold office. He believed firmly in the romantic Southern farmer and in the vital role that agriculture played in the economy. Jefferson's mortal enemy was the financial genius Alexander Hamilton, who took a philosophy directly opposite to his. Hamilton knew that industrial dominance, manufacturing, and big business would one day create an American superpower. The feud inside the first White House represented the ultimate debate over the American economy. Jefferson and his farmer's principles stood starkly against the Hamiltonian view of Eastern mechanization. Despite the Populist Party's failures in the late 19th century, its reformist ideologies would have as great an impact on the American conscience as Thomas Jefferson himself.

The first major populist revolt occurred in 1791 in the rural Monongahela Valley region of Pennsylvania. The Whiskey Rebellion shocked the infant nation and brought out the plight of the poor Western settler. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton had proposed an excise tax on liquor that required the settlers’ painstaking effort to bring their goods to market. An insurrection occurred and it was promptly put down by Washington's army. Thomas Jefferson, ever the supporter of the common man, scorned Hamilton's actions and stated that "a few revolutions here and there are healthy for a nation". The lesson learned was that the American government valued industry over the simple farmer. This scenario repeated itself until the Progressive Era when populist ideas took root in all branches of the government.