1875:  Minnesotan Ignatius Donnelly helps found the National Greenback Party to challenge the rail and timber monopolies.  In the 1880's he gets involved in starting the People's Party (also known as the Populist Party) which champions the 8-hour day among other causes.  The People's Party protested the railroad companies corrupting government and advocated government regulation of the railroads. Donnelly had a key leadership role in this party.

Donnelly decided to become a lawyer and clerked for Benjamin Brewster, who later became Attorney General of the United States. Donnelly was admitted to the bar in 1852.  Donnelly was recognized as a highly effective political speaker, which led to a successful campaign for lieutenant governor, which he held from 1860 to 1863. He was a Minnesota Congressman  (1863–1869), a State Senator from 1874 to 1878 and 1891–1894 and a State Representative from 1887 to 1888 and 1897–1898.  As a legislator, he advocated extending the powers of the Freedmen's Bureau to provide education for freedmen so that they could protect themselves once the bureau was withdrawn. Donnelly was also an early supporter of women's suffrage. After leaving the Minnesota State Senate in 1878, he returned to his law practice and writing.

Donnelly died on January 1, 1901, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, age 69 years. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His personal papers are archived at the Minnesota Historical Society.