The Great Quadrangular Debate

As the nineteenth century drew to a close, the United States continued to transition from an agrarian based economy which had sustained it prior to the Civil War into an industrial economy which then led to the monopolies and power of big business during the Gilded Age. In the election of 1892, the Populist candidate, James Baird Weaver of Iowa, earned a million votes, astonishing the leadership of the Democratic and Republican Parties. Though the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, easily won the election, it was clear that the people demanded to be heard and the planks of the Populist Party platform would need to be considered. During the years between the Election of 1892 and the Election of 1896, the political parties participated in a series of Quadrangular Debates in various cities. The Great Quadrangular Debate held in Philadelphia in early spring 1893 addressed the question : "Which offers the best practical political means for the benefit of the working men of the country -the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the People's Party, or the Church?" The Democratic Party was represented by Col. Henry Watterson of Kentucky; the Republicans by Gen. S L Woodford of Massachusetts; the People's Party by Gen. James B Weaver of Iowa; and the Church by Rev. Russell H Conwell of Philadelphia. The Debate was organized by the Chatham Literary Union and was held in the Baptist Temple of Philadelphia.At the time, J B Weaver owned a small publishing company in Des Moines, Iowa. After the Great Debate in Philadelphia, he published a booklet of the speeches delivered there and included various advertisements for Populist books and other Rattling Reform publications. This new booklet is a scanned reprint of the booklet published in 1893. The original booklet was brittle, foxed, and discolored from age, so color correction was done to make it more readable. Other than that, it is just as it was when J B Weaver printed it almost 120 years ago.