Did populists believe that the government should have more control over Americans?

The Populists believed in more government regulation but not necessarily in more government control over people. The Populists believed that if an unfair situation arose that hurt one group of people while benefiting another group of people, the government should then get involved. For example, the Populists believed that the railroad industry was unfair to farmers. The railroad companies would give rebates to big business owners, but they would not give them to the farmers. Thus, the Populists wanted the government to control the railroad companies.
Another example was with the banks. The Populists believed that the banks charged farmers interest rates that were higher than what other groups, such as business owners, had to pay. This made it hard for the farmers to borrow money and repay their debts. The Populists wanted the government to control the banking industry.
Thus, the Populists favored increased government regulation in cases where one group was hurt by the actions of another group or when unfair policies hurt a group of people.
http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/populists.html

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=4067