Farmers' Alliance and Populism
As the son of yeoman farmers, Butler grew up in a strong agrarian tradition, and by the age of 25 was elected President of the local Farmers' Alliance.
Still a Democrat at this time, Butler was elected to the North Carolina Senate as an "Alliance Democrat" in 1890. In 1891, at age 28, he was elected President of the State Farmers' Alliance. Due to a general distaste for Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland, and the North Carolina Democratic Party's ruling that no voter could vote on a "split ticket", Butler led a mass exodus of Alliance members and followers to the Populist, or "People's Party" in 1892.
During his tenure with the Populists, Butler was an advocate of "Fusion", meaning outright cooperation with the North Carolina (and national) Republican Party as a means to achieve some of the more important goals of his party. While some Populists disliked what they saw as a compromise made on some of their core beliefs, Butler saw short-term success, as the Populists and Republicans swept North Carolina Elected offices in the Election of 1894.
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Famous quotes containing the word alliance:
“Let it be an alliance of two large, formidable natures, mutually beheld, mutually feared, before yet they recognize the deep identity which beneath these disparities unites them.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)