Students examine the history of the Populist Party as it relates to its reforms and economic plight. In this Populism and the People's Party instructional activity, students explore why farmers experienced financial difficulty at the end of the century. Students work in groups to compare the railroad expansion map of 1870-1890 to the one of mining and cattle frontiers in 1870.  Students discuss historical events that described one group of people taken over the authority of another group.