Final answer:
The Ocala Demands aimed to include 'free silver' in US monetary policy, advocating for the unlimited coinage of silver alongside gold to create a bimetallic system that would benefit farmers by inflating the money supply and increasing crop prices.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Ocala Demands represented a significant movement by the Populist Party to amend the economic and political landscape to better support farmers in the late 19th century. One of their major propositions was to address the monetary policy of the United States, which at the time was based primarily on the gold standard. The Ocala Demands sought to incorporate silver into the equation, advocating for what is known as “free silver”.
The intention of free silver was to allow the unlimited coinage of silver, alongside gold, to back US currency. By doing so, alliance members believed that a bimetallic monetary system would create a flexible exchange rate, reduce the incentive for speculation, and provide relief to cash-strapped farmers by inflating the money supply, leading to higher crop prices and an easier means of paying off debts.