The party was created by Attorney-General Edward Patrick Morris in 1907, when he split from the ruling Liberal Party to found his own political vehicle.
Morris and the People's Party were re-elected in the 1913 election, winning 16 seats compared to 7 for the Liberals and 8 for the Fishermen's Protective Union led by William Coaker.
In 1917, a wartime crisis over conscription resulted in Morris inviting the opposition parties to join in a National Government, which ruled for two years.
Morris retired at the end of 1917, and was replaced as People's Party leader by Sir Michael Patrick Cashin.
Although not a sectarian party, the People's Party and its immediate successor had their support concentrated among Catholic voters, particularly on the south coast of the island.