Populist Party United States: Encyclopedia II - Populist Party United States - Legacy

Populist Party United States - Legacy

The nation remained on the gold standard until 1973, a fact that some (but by no means all) economic historians blame for the banking crisis during the Great Depression.

In addition, the Populist Party's call for the direct election of Senators was realized in 1913 with the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment. The party's call for civil service reform would become part of the Progressive Party platform.

Though the Populist Party's political power was short-lived, they did enact and promote important political policies like term limits and the secret ballot. The Populists were also responsible for their support of the grassroot political powers of initiative, referendum and recall. Initiatives allow ordinary citizens to introduce legislation, usually by collecting a certain number of signatures. Referendums submit legislation to the voting public for approval, and recalls allow citizens to replace politicians before their term has expired.

Many Populist ideas were adopted by the Democratic Party. Once the more established party adopted the Populist policies, the third party no longer had much political force.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Legacy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki