Populists believed in the government regulating politics and the economy to better serve the interests of the common person. Their ideas required government interference which was considered communistic ideology.
The Populists were found in the South and Mid-West and many of them were farmers. Populists believed the corrupt practices of the industrial tycoons, banks, railroads, and even the government had allowed for a small percentage of the population to prosper while the common person was struggling. Populists pushed for more direct democractic practices such as voting for Senators and creating a process to remove bad leaders from the state level. Populists wanted the government to regulate the railroads and banks as well as helping farmers through rough conditions. More socially conservative Populists also wanted the government to regulate immoral behaviors found in urban areas such as drinking. The Populists would prove too extreme for the 1880's but many of their ideas would be implemented during the 1910's.
