174 THE GREEN RISING 



jamin Harrison, the republican candidate in 1892. 

 Out of a total of over ten million votes cast, Cleve- 

 land's popular vote exceeded Harrison's by only 

 380,822. The farm party, therefore, clearly held the 

 balance of power, and the recognition of this fact 

 is revealed in the declaration of both parties in 1896 

 and 1900 and in much legislation, both state and 

 national, that has been enacted since the People's 

 Party first gave expression to its political faith in 

 1892. 



General conditions throughout the country be- 

 tween 1892 and 1896 were favorable to the contin- 

 ued growth of this agrarian party. One of the most 

 serious financial crises that the country ever experi- 

 enced occurred in 1893. During this year 573 banks 

 and trust companies failed. 2 Hundreds of commer- 

 cial firms failed, trade and industry were disorgan- 

 ized, and business depression and unemployment 

 produced some of the most serious strikes in our 

 history. The great railroad strike of 1894 and 

 Coxey's army reflected the widespread nature of the 

 distress and the labor unrest. The farmers of the 

 West and the Southwest were involved in the gen- 

 eral depression that prevailed. But in addition to 

 the general financial situation, farmers experienced 

 a failure of the corn crop in 1894, and the decline 

 in the European demand for wheat caused the price 

 to fall to less than fifty cents per bushel. 



"Bogart's The Economic History of the United States, Chap. 

 XXVI, p. 399. 



