Depression of the 1890s - Essay Example

On the state of political affairs in the U.S at the turn of the century, however, the four-year depression reflected through – (1) debates over bimetallism; (2) protests raised by the National Farmers’ Alliances and Industrial Union which eventually drove the Farmers Alliances to enter politics; as well as (3) incessant political corruption. To Americans, the initial stages of achieving an industrial economy occurred to have formed a revolutionary social order that only raised confusion especially among the working class, making them suspiciously ponder and react upon the possible outcomes of social development for the nation.

It entailed a notion that such approach to spontaneous progress determines allocation of power and social security as via socio-political strength. In this perspective, reformists of the period were led to conceive that potential peril exists with the significant concern that as a response to it, people of the lower class may act in tumultuous aggression in exercising their democratic right over to suppress individual economic growth thinking that liberty of acquisition of rights to property, particularly with those who could afford, would only emphasize inequality among social divisions and thus create on appropriating amount of common interests.

Through the practice of commodity money regime that used to be popular until its initial decline in 1873, the period of depression witnessed how political parties tackled the issue of remedying the incompetent monetary supply by considering replacement or linkage between and one of two precious metals. In 1894, when Republican arguments on the predicament of bimetallism triumphed over those of Democrats, the political tension was carried on by the Populists who found the need to support the Democrats based on the pressure set upon the Congress in having to authorize the Treasury to release currency that may be held in equivalence to either gold or silver.

As a consequence, nevertheless, political efforts led to dollar devaluation on adopting back the concept of bimetallism. Similarly, the impact of depression of the 1890s particularly brought farmers to seek acquisition of role or position in the government. Apparently, this resulted out of the failure for cooperatives to be managed and capitalized adequately so by becoming a political member, the establishment of the People’s Party among the farmers was expected to provide financial aid in combating the state of depression.

Farmers, in this regard, sought after commodity credit system with the help of the Populists in order to be allowed storage of crops in the federal warehouse until such time the produce bears the capacity to attract good market. Concerns toward personal economy further resonated in politics even after the era of Reconstruction the latter 19th century depression was also witnessed to characterize corruption by the state authorities and widespread operation of fraudulent activities in the U.S. government.

Unsettled personal economic interests had inevitably allowed democratic freedom to scandalize certain officials suspected of such misdeed or crime against the nation