Professor Postel Discusses History Of American Populism

On Point with Tom Ashbrook/WBUR-FM (BOSTON) -- Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are part of a long line of populists stretching back to Andrew Jackson. History Professor Charles Postel discussed that populist history and why the U.S. is so ripe now for these messages. “Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, I think, really do match the history of that populist movement of the 1890s,” says Postel, author of “The Populist Vision.” “Elizabeth Warren, of course, is from Oklahoma. I don’t know if she claims that type of political root, but it sure sounds like Oklahoma populism to me. “Bernie Sanders is exactly the type of Democratic socialist that flocked to the populist movement of the 1890s. Much of his program would make a lot of sense to those people.”