The Populist response to industrial America

the long version

This volume argues that Midwestern Populists were radical reformers who responded to industrialization in a progressive manner. The author's study is a response to previous Populist histories that portrayed the movement as being opposed to industrialization. In presenting his case, the author relied on a number of primary sources, including manuscript collections of those involved in multiple levels of the movement and Populist newspapers. The author argues that Populists wanted to redefine the relationship between man and industrialization so that the masses, and not the select elite, could benefit. Populists viewed industrialization as neutral, and that it only became a negative influence when capitalists exploited the technology at the cost of human dignity.