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Populist Party Formed
The Populist Party is formed at the national level in Cincinnati, Ohio -
First National Populist Convention
The Populist Party, also known as the Peopleís Party, holds its first national convention in Omaha, Nebraska. James B. Weaver is nominated as the partyís candidate for president, and the party issues forth its platform: Their important demands include government ownership of
railroads, free coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, an eight hour day, the popular election of senators, the secret ballot, government ownership of telegraphs and telephones, and government-owned warehouses. -
Populist support Democratic presidential candidate
Populists support Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan (Nebraska) who runs on “Cross of Gold”/Free Silver platform. McKinley (GOP) elected. -
Populist Party in Cincinnati
A splinter group of the Populist Party meets in Cincinnati, Ohio, nominating Wharton Baker of Pennsylvania for president and Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota for Vice President. On the same day the main branch of the Populist Party meets in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and once again nominated William Jennings Bryan for president. Joining on the ticket is Charles A. Town of Minnesota. -
Democratic Party and Populist Party
Meeting in Kansas City the Democratic Party chooses William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska, already the Populist Party presidential candidate, to head its national slate with Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois as his running mate. -
Meat Inspection Act
This piece of Progressive legislation was largley inspired by muckraker journalist Upton Sinclair's controversial exposure of the appalling standards of the American meat packing industry. This act made it mandatory for all meat packing plants in the U.S. to follow strict federal guidelines, as well as submit to federal inspections. -
Populist party dissolves
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The Sixteenth Amendment: Federal Income Tax
The Supreme Court stuck a 2% tax down in a 5-4 decision that focused on property rights and the federal government's limited powers to impose a "direct tax." A general return of prosperity softened the demand for tax reform, but the Democratic party and progressives in the Republican party continued to support the idea. In 1909 progressives in Congress attached a provision for an income tax to the Payne-Aldrich tarriff bill. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A fire breaks out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. 146 people die, almost all of them immigrant girls under the age of 18, as a result of unsafe working conditions and policies. This causes the American public to cry out for federal regulation of working conditions. -
The Seventeenth Amendment: Direct Election of the U.S. Senators
The progressives made it possible for there to be a direct election. -
Keating Owen Act
This legislation was a major win for the Progressive movement. It made child labor illegal in the U.S., and it banned any goods produced by child labor
