PmWiki - UnknownUSA.IgnatiusDonnelly

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A populist politician and Atlantis enthusiast, dubbed by his opponents "the Prince of Cranks." Another member of the LeagueOfGoodRoads.

: "Ignatius Donnelly, an Irish writer, lawyer, and politician is remembered primarily for his extensive work on Atlantis. Donnelly's theories are the basis for much of the Atlantis belief today, including the placement and timing of the Atlantis disaster."
: I don't think it's totally fair to say Donnelly is "primarily" remembered today for his Atlantis theories. By gamers and occult aficionados, sure. But Donnelly was a leading Populist, who wrote the ringing preamble to the Omaha Platform of the People's Party in 1892. He also wrote a couple of political science fiction novels, most famously Caesar's Column. But yeah, he was also a big old Atlantis kook. [Rob]

Unsurprisingly, Ignatius had his opinions on GoldVsSilver. He was an ardent Greenbacker, against basing currency on the value of either metal. He derided the worship of gold and silver as ancient superstition. "Precisely as the physicians of Europe fifty years ago, practised bleeding," Donnelly said, "because for thousands of years their savage ancestors had used it to draw away the evil spirits out of the man, so the business of our modern civilization is dependent upon the superstition of a past civilization, and the bankers of the world are to-day perpetuating the adoration of 'the tears wept by the sun' which was commenced ages since on the island of Atlantis."

At the People's Party convention in 1896, Donnelly opposed a populist alliance with the Democrats and WilliamJenningsBryan. He ran for Vice President on a splinter group ticket in 1900, but received only 50,000 votes.

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