History 371
Devine
Spring 2014
Study Questions: Turner, “Understanding the Populists”
- Does
Turner argue that economic conditions dictated whether a farmer voted
Populist? If not, what does he argue?
- What
kind of evidence does Turner use to make his case? Does his use of this evidence make his
argument persuasive to you?
- Provide
a sketch of your typical Texas Populist.
Why did the circumstances and context of his daily make the
Populism an attractive movement to him?
- According
to Turner, why did Populism seem to collapse as quickly as it had arisen?
- How
would James Turner modify Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis regarding the
significance of the American frontier?