Reformation: The Protestant Reformation caused people to leave the Catholic Church reducing its power.
In 1517, Martin Luther began a revolution within the Catholic Church creating a new religion and spurring others to break away as well. The branches of the Protestant Church rose out of the movement reducing the membership of the Catholic Church. This reduced the money and therefore the power of the Church. <span />
The presidential campaign of the Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan proved highly appealing, his candidacy maintained high popular support thanks to doctrines and ideas that were aimed at the less favored people. Bryan held openly populist ideas as a result of his alliance with the People's Party.
