Even though Republicans and Democrats had similar organization and purposes, there were many issues separating the two. Some of those differences were in the ways the parties described themselves in their platforms and any other campaign appeals. By “waving the bloody shirt”, Republicans asserted a virtual monopoly on patriotism. But that wasn’t the extent to which the Republicans exploited the Civil War legacy. They voted to provide federal pensions to Union army veterans, widows, …showed first 75 words of 592 total…

…showed last 75 words of 592 total…that giant corporations that made farm equipment and fertilizer overcharged them. They pretty much complained everybody was overcharging them… To provide relief, farmers joined organizations. Grangers, Greenbackers, or Silverites, they hoped they would solve their problems. The outcome of all this was the Farmers Alliance and eventually the birth of the People’s Party – the Populists. The Populists called for federal action to reduce the power of big business and to assist farmers and workers.