The Study of Kansas Populism

本研究以位于堪萨斯中部东部边缘的马里恩县为个案研究对象，探讨了世纪末民粹主义运动的发源地--马里恩县与民粹主义的关系，以及门诺派等新移民群体对民粹主义运动的反应。第三，中西部城乡关系背景下的民粹主义运动的性质。根据我在那里的研究所收集的原始资料的分析，我初步得出了以下结论。第一，佃农，他们中的大多数人都在所谓的斯库利土地制度下，除了少数同时是佃农和拥有农民的人之外，对民粹主义运动的热情相对较低，因为他们对民粹主义者的表现很差。第二，门诺派中的大多数人不仅对民粹主义者没有同情心，而且他们还通过爱德华·霍克等共和党政治家的影响而依附于共和党。最后，在马里恩城这样的小镇上，出现了像弗兰克·多斯特或里德尔兄弟（泰勒和莱昂）这样的“小镇民粹主义者”。他们在19世纪80年代后期过分沉溺于真实的房地产投机。1887年繁荣崩溃后，他们挣扎着从难以承受的抵押沉重负担中逃脱。作为一种出路，他们转向了民粹主义，这个故事在我在这项研究的印刷报告中展示的莱昂·H·里德尔的日记中有所描述。

In this study, placing a focus as a case-study on Marion County, located on the eastern edge of central Kansas which was the hotbed of Populism in the late nineteenth century, I have tried to investigate three points ; first, the relationship between propertyless people like tenant farmers or farm laborers and Populism ; second, the response of the newly arrived immigrants groups like Mennonites to the Populist movement ; third, the nature of the Populist movement in the context of rural-urban relationship in the Mid-west.Depending upon the analysis of original sources collected through my research there, I have reached the following conclusions tentatively. First, tenant farmers, most of them under the so-called Scully-Land System, excepting a few who were renters as well as owning farmers simultaneously, were comparatively less enthusiastic about the Populist movement as they turned out poorly for Populists. Second, most of the Mennonites were not only unsympathetic for Populists, also they adhered to Republican Party through the influence of some Republican politicians like Edward W.Hoch. Finally, in small towns like Marion City, there appeared "small town Populists" like Frank Doster or Riddle brothers (Tylor and Leon). They indulged too much in the speculation in real estate in the late 1880's. After the collapse of the boom in 1887, they struggled to escape from the unbearable heavy burden of mortgage. As one way out of it, they turned to Populism, which story was told in Leon H.Riddle's diary I showed in the printed report of this research.