A. J. Arnold to Joseph Hebbard
Creator: Arnold, A. J.
Date: August 11, 1892
In this brief but informative letter A. J. Arnold, a Topeka, Kansas, druggist, informs Joseph Hebbard, treasurer of the Farmer's Alliance, of his decision to switch his allegiance from the Democratic Party to the People's (Populist) Party. He is eager to "release the state of Kansas from the misrule of the Republican Party." While Arnold is confident that he has made the right decision, he also notes that many other Democrats are wavering. Consequently, Arnold has prepared a letter to the Democrats that expresses the benefits of supporting Populism; he asks Hebbard to read through the draft of this letter and provide comments. This enclosure is not with the original letter and has not been located.

A Crisis for the Husbandman
Creator: Daniels, Percy
Date: 1889--1891
The contents of this book are six lectures that were delivered to the Girard, Kansas, Grange by Colonel Percy Daniels, a civil engineer. The chapters correspond to individual speeches with titles such as "The Condition of Agriculture," "The Cause, a Living Octopus and a Dead Industry," "The Cause, The Annual Penalty Imposed on Labor," Our Idolatry--the Golden Calf," "The Remedy," and "American Despots to the Rear." Reviews of various lectures as well as some addition materials are included. Daniels later served as a Populist Lieutenant Governor of Kansas. Dates in the publication range from 1889 through 1891. It was published by Western Herald Print of Girard, Kansas.

Address and Platform of the Allied and True People's Party of Kansas.
Creator: Allied People's Party of Kansas
Date: 1902
This pamphlet probably represents that last formal activity of Populists in Kansas. By 1902, a number of Populists had aligned with the Democratic Party, leaving the "Allied and True People's Party of Kansas" as the political party still using that name. The address states the general political position of the party. It includes the names of those running for various offices on the Populist ticket, the party platform signed by the executive committee members (most of whom were from Topeka), a short biography of Maxwell Thorp, their candidate for attorney general, and a speech by D. W. Boutwell who was secretary and treasurer of the party. The candidate for governor, James H. Lathrop, received just over 600 votes in the general election.

A few financial facts, being a series of kindergarten lessons on the Silver Question
Creator: King, S. S.
Date: 1895
S.S. King, a Populist, writes about the plight of the farmer and the small increases in farm values as compared to other sectors of the economy. He presents a number of statistics from the 1890 census. King contends that some government officials do not want the people to understand the implications of these statistics. His goal is to unite farmers and workers to address what he views as their common enemy. King lived in Kansas City, Kansas. The book's full title is "A few financial facts, being a series of kindergarten lessons on the Silver Question, with sixty-two illustrative diagrams, showing clearly the misfortunes that have come to the people, the causes that produce them, and the remedy that will remove."

Agitate, educate, organize: price catalogue of books, documents and periodicals
Creator: Breidenthal, John William, 1857-1910
Date: Unknown
List of published pamphlets for sale by the People's Party State Central Committee of Kansas.

A lesson of to-day and a questions of to-morrow
Creator: Daniels, Percy, 1840-1916
Date: October 01, 1892
This speech was delivered by Col. Percy Daniels, candidate of the People's and Democratic Parties for Kansas Lieutent Governor, at Girard, Kansas.

Alliance songster
Date: Between 1890 and 1897
This Farmer's Alliance pamphlet includes populist political songs used to organize the farm community behind its political banner.

Alliance songster
Creator: People's Party of Kansas
Date: 1890s
This incomplete songster of populist political songs advocates a change from the status quo and promotes the ideas of the Populist or People's Party. It is similar to item # 209682, which is the third edition of an Alliance Songster.

A message and plan for county candidates
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
This pamphlet was prepared by the chairmen and secretaries of the People's Party and the Democrats. They were working on a "fusion" or merged ticket that would be supported by both Democrats and Populists. The pamphlet gives very specific instructions about how to attract Republican voters who are discontented with that party. It is addressed to party workers at the county level and advocates a very grass roots approach to the campaign. The Peoples Party chairman was W. J. Babb and the secretary was J. H. Curran. The Democratic chairman was H. P. Farrelly and the secretary was Chas. McCrum.

An appeal to true Populists
Creator: Clemens, G. C. (Gaspar Christopher), 1849-1906
Date: Unknown
A historical analysis of the progression of the People's Party in the political process of the 1890s.

Annie (Le Porte) Diggs
Creator: Snyder
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
A portrait of Annie (Le Porte) Diggs, who was born in 1848 in Canada to an American mother and French father. Two years later the family moved to New Jersey, where she attended school. Diggs moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1873 and married Alvin S. Diggs shortly thereafter. While in Kansas, Diggs began to attend the local Unitarian Church and developed a strong sense of moral responsibility that prompted her to work for temperance and women's suffrage. During 1882, Diggs and her husband published the newspaper Kansas Liberal, and beginning in 1890 she was the associate editor of the Alliance Advocate. As a radical reformer seeking to wipe out injustice, Diggs also allied herself with the Farmer's Alliance, aiding in the creation of the People's (Populist) Party, serving on the Populist National Committee, and supporting the fusion of the Populist and Democratic parties in the 1898 election. Throughout this time she continued to work actively for women's voting rights and served in the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association. In 1898, she was appointed the state librarian of Kansas, and she was also elected president of Kansas Press Women in 1905. Diggs moved to New York City in 1906, where she worked on two publications: The Story of Jerry Simpson (1908) and Bedrock (1912). She relocated to Detroit, Michigan, in 1912 and died there on September 7, 1916.

Another shrewd scheme of our enemies: they try to mislead the people and drive men into the support of the old parties
Creator: Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873
Date: 1890s
The State Central Committee of the People's Party had the statement addressed "To the Voters of Kansas" printed to warn of the corrupt practices of the two established political parties. The statement charges the Republicans of trying to discredit the People's Party in order to maintain control of Kansas government. S. W. Chase signed this document as chairman of the State Central Committee.

Anti-Populist political ribbon
Date: 1894
A blue political campaign ribbon sponsored by the Emporia Gazette (newspaper) promoting "more [corn], less hell" in 1894. The slogan is a rebuttal of the Populist appeal that farmers raise "less corn and more hell" often attributed to Populist agitator Mary Elizabeth Lease.

A party of patches
Creator: Judge Magazine
Date: June 6, 1891
This political cartoon drawn by Bernard Gilliam was copied from the satirical magazine Judge presents the Republican perception of the People's (Populist) Party. The artist depicts the People's Party as a hot air balloon made up of a patchwork of pieces, with each piece labeled with the name of the political organization or party that has been subsumed under the banner of the Populists. Some of the more recognizable "patches" include the Prohibition Party, the Greenback Party, the Farmer's Alliance, and the Knights of Labor Party. Inside the balloon's basket are two leading Populists from Kansas, William Peffer and "Sockless" Jerry Simpson.

Aristocracy in America
Creator: People's Party of Kansas
Date: 1892
People's Party Committee publication equating the millionaire class in the United States to the landed aristocracy class in England and the dangers inherent in both.

Between Millstones
Creator: Kelly, H. B.
Date: 1896
This short pamphlet discusses the problems that high tariffs and the gold standard create for workers and farmers. It clearly presents Populist ideas about the dire situation of Kansas farmers by giving several examples of how businessmen and merchants benefit from the oppression of common laborers. The pamphlet was written by H. B. Kelly and printed by the Jeffersonian Publishing Company in Lawrence, Kansas; each pamphlet cost five cents.

Bond-holders and bread-winners: portrayal of some political crimes committed in the name of liberty
Creator: King, S. S.
Date: 1892
S. S. King was a lawyer in Kansas City, Kansas. He was a Populist and this pamphlet outlines the case for farmers and workers against the owners of wealth. He presents a variety of statistics to support his arguments. The text is the same as item # 208059 but there are differences in the pages before and after the main text.

Brigadier general's coat
Creator: M.C. Lilley and Company
Date: between 1893 and 1905
Kansas National Guard brigadier general's coat. Navy blue wool, double breasted with two rows of four pairs of gilded buttons. The coat belonged to Brigadier General James White Frierson Hughes. Hughes was born in Tennessee in 1860 and came to Topeka, Kansas, after graduating from university in 1881. He served in the Kansas National Guard, commanding the 3rd Regiment at the time of the 1893 Legislative Wars, during which he was court martialed for refusing to deploy troops to the capitol to maintain order. He was later reinstated and made a major general. From 1905 to 1909 Hughes served as the state's Adjutant General. In addition to his role in the National Guard, Hughes filled several civic positions, including stints as the mayor of Potwin and the mayor of Topeka, as well as serving on the Topeka city council. He died in 1945.

Bryan and Leedy Free Silver Flambeau Club song
Creator: Van Voorhis, Harvey B.
Date: 1890s
This People's Party campaign song rallies the party for an upcoming political election. Song No. 4, composed by Maj. H.B. Van Voorhis.

Bryan and Leedy Free Silver Flambeau Club song
Creator: Van Voorhis, Harvey B.
Date: 1890s
This People's Party campaign song rallies the party for an upcoming political election. Song No. 2, composed by Maj. H.B. Van Voorhis.

C. C. Evans to Governor Edmund Morrill
Creator: Evans, C. C.
Date: December 24, 1894
The chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Central Committee, C. C. Evans, of Allison (Decatur County), writes Governor Edmund Morrill to inform him of the desperate circumstances facing farmers in western Kansas and to ask the state to furnish seed grain to the farmers. Several years of drought and low crop yields left many farmers without sufficient seed grain for the next season's crops. Evans asks the governor to rally Republican legislators to quickly pass an appropriation for farm relief. The letter claims that Populists have thwarted local efforts to address the problem and that effective actions by Republicans at this time would attract more people in western Kansas to the Republican Party.

Campaign songs, ancedotes and speeches
Creator: Judd, Charles Pratt, 1840-
Date: 1892
This People's Party songster including campaign songs, anecdotes and speeches used at political rallies.

Campaign songs, as sung by the National Quartette
Date: 1892
This volume of campaign songs includes four pieces that vividly express the major beliefs of the Populist Party. The first song, "For Trampling on the Grass," criticizes the businessmen and bankers who were trampling on the rights of the common people. The second song, "The Republican's Lament," pokes fun at the Republicans who were no longer able to dominate the Populists now that "they have ceased to head our whippings, and have ceased to take our word." The third song, "The Wall Street Badge" describes how the government, according to the Populists, was now in the hands of Wall Street. The final song, "One of His Legs is Longer Than It Really Ought to Be," provides a comic perspective on some of the upcoming elections, including the race between Chester I. Long and "Sockless Jerry" Simpson.

Christian Balzac Hoffman
Date: Between 1910 and 1920
A photograph showing Christian Balzac (C.B.) Hoffman seated in a chair reading a book. Born in Switzerland, where his family was in the milling business, C. B immigrated with his family to Wisconsin and then Kansas. The family originally located in Leavenworth when they came to Kansas but they moved to Dickinson County where C. B.'s father Christian was one of the founders of Enterprise, Kansas. After college, C. B. joined his father's milling business but he was involved in numerous other businesses. C. B. Hoffman was active in politics and evolved from a Republican to a Populist to a Socialist. As his beliefs evolved, he gradually cut ties with family in Enterprise. By 1910, he was divorced from his first wife and Hoffman and his second wife were living in Kansas City, Kansas. He ran for U.S. Senator from Kansas on the Socialist ticket in 1914.

Citizens Alliance No. 41
Creator: Zercher, Daniel C.,
Date: 1890s
A People's Party Citizens Alliance publication enumerating their political platform, resolution and by-laws.