James B. Weaver came into political prominence with the Greenback Labor Movement. The movement was organized at the Toledo Convention of 800 delegates and adopted a platform reflecting inflationary and labor viewpoints. Weaver called for free coinage of silver, the Bland-Allison Act being designated as “The Crime of 73” by the western silver mine interests.

In the Congressional election of 1878, the Greenback Party had polled over a million votes—fourteen seats being won in Congress where Weaver became the standard bearer. They broadened their program by endorsing women’s suffrage, federal regulation of interstate commerce, and a graduated income tax. The party ran its last independent presidential candidate in 1884.

The People’s (Populist) Party was at first a statewide party formed in Kansas and was a union of several organizations. Weaver and James G. Field were the candidates for president and vice president.