"The urban workmen are denied the right to organize for self-protection, imported pauperized labor beats down their wages, a hireling standing army, unrecognized by our laws, is established to shoot them down, and they are rapidly degenerating into European condition"

Distance was a huge issue with trying to unite the people and form a strong political movement. The farmers and the urban workers were suffering through similar problems of poverty. Both types were being exploited by the wealthy few; the urban workers were stuck in factories by the Captain of Industry while the farmers were constantly in debt to the merchants. The biggest struggle of the Populist party was to connect the two types of voters, and the main way they do that is through connecting their struggles.

"We assert our purposes to be identical with the purposes of the National Constitution; to form a more perfect union and establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity."

In these two documents they both use the constitution to prove their point, even though they are on opposite sides of the same problem. On one hand Grover Cleveland is saying that the Constitution doesn't allow for a bill to pass that only helps individuals, but on the flip-side the People's Party says that helping the farmers will create a more perfect union. The farmers wanted to have assurance that if their crops had a bad season they wouldn't have to starve for the rest of the year. Cleveland seems unsympathetic to the cause even though the happiness of the farmers directly affects how they'll vote during the election.

Why is Sumner so strongly for a completely hands-off economy, does he have something to gain from the increasing wage gap?

During this time the Captains of Industry/Robber Barons were gaining power and wealth. The idea that these men were working harder than others was severely skewed. All of the richest men at the time were creating their monopoly and money off of the backs of the working class. Exploiting this class was commonplace, forcing workers to work 10+ hour shifts in dangerous situations for minimal pay. Sumner's idea that work is proportional to success shows a lack of understanding of the conditions of the working class.