Populist Party Representation in the 1895 TX HouseI’ve had this information sitting on my comp

Populist Party Representation in the 1895 TX HouseI’ve had this information sitting on my computer for a while and just now got around to putting it into a map. The map shows the counties represented in the House by Populist Party members in the 24th Texas Legislature (1895). The Populist Party reached its zenith in 1894-1895, becoming the most successful third party in Texas history (even the Republican Party wouldn’t see similar numbers until the 1970s). As you can see from the map, Populist electoral success was clustered in certain areas. There may not be a strong correlation, but Populist success overlaps with areas where significant minorities opposed secession and counties with sizeable German populations.While the party achieved electoral success, its members did not pass many bills and no legislation related to the party platform (based on information in the House and Senate journals). During the 24th Regular Session, legislators authored 1,059 House and Senate bill; Populists authored 66 of those. Of these bills, 160 were passed; the Populist passed 2 bills. Both were local bills unrelated to the 1894 Populist platform goals.Although they were unsuccessful passing legislation, they formed a strong caucus and opposed legislation which conflicted with the party’s goals, even managing to kill some bills.Some Recommended Reading:Partisan Shifts in the StatesImperial Texas by D W. MeiningThe People’s Party in Texas by Roscoe MartinYeomen Sharecroppers and Socialists by Kyle G. Wilkison -- source link

More pics about