Review of The Limits of Agrarian Radicalism: Western Populism and American Politics by Peter H. Argersinger

Authors

Scott G. McNall, California State University, Chico

Date of this Version

October 1996

Document Type

Article

Comments

Published in Great Plains Research 6:2 (Fall 1996). Copyright © 1996 The Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Used by permission. http://www.unl.edu/plains/publications/GPR/gpr.shtml

Abstract

Peter Argersinger is one of the best known and influential writers on American Populism. His clear, well-crafted pieces on the origins and eventual demise of the Populist movement are outstanding in their ability to help contemporary readers understand the turmoil and complexity of late nineteenth- century American politics. Those familiar with his writing will find The Limits of Agrarian Radicalism a compilation of previous work spanning a quarter century of scholarly effort with an entirely new chapter as a bonus. My personal favorite, "Road to a Republican Waterloo," explains why a third party farmer's movement triumphed over a well-entrenched Republican party in the Kansas election of 1890.