Samuel DeCanio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300198782
- eISBN:
- 9780300216318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300198782.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter examines the impact of silver policy on American politics by focusing on the demonetization of the silver dollar in the Coinage Act of 1873 and the claims made by the free silver ...
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This chapter examines the impact of silver policy on American politics by focusing on the demonetization of the silver dollar in the Coinage Act of 1873 and the claims made by the free silver movement in the 1870s and 1880s that were subsequently adopted by the Populist Party and William Jennings Bryan. It first considers the passage of the Coinage Act, denounced by the Populists as the “Crime of '73,” and goes on to discuss the politics of silver and its relevance to general issues involving popular comprehension of democratic politics. It then explores Richard Hofstadter's reaction to the Populists' conspiratorial view of the silver issue and the studies echoing his arguments. It supports the Populists' contention that William Chapman Ralston, president of the Bank of California, bribed Henry Linderman, the official who wrote the Coinage Act of 1873, to influence silver policy. It suggests that silver had been demonetized to protect not only Ralston's business empire but also the gold standard and the public debt.Less
This chapter examines the impact of silver policy on American politics by focusing on the demonetization of the silver dollar in the Coinage Act of 1873 and the claims made by the free silver movement in the 1870s and 1880s that were subsequently adopted by the Populist Party and William Jennings Bryan. It first considers the passage of the Coinage Act, denounced by the Populists as the “Crime of '73,” and goes on to discuss the politics of silver and its relevance to general issues involving popular comprehension of democratic politics. It then explores Richard Hofstadter's reaction to the Populists' conspiratorial view of the silver issue and the studies echoing his arguments. It supports the Populists' contention that William Chapman Ralston, president of the Bank of California, bribed Henry Linderman, the official who wrote the Coinage Act of 1873, to influence silver policy. It suggests that silver had been demonetized to protect not only Ralston's business empire but also the gold standard and the public debt.
Samuel DeCanio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300198782
- eISBN:
- 9780300216318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300198782.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter focuses on the free silver movement and how the silver issue influenced the Democratic Party's ideological shift. More specifically, it considers William Jennings Bryan's demands for the ...
More
This chapter focuses on the free silver movement and how the silver issue influenced the Democratic Party's ideological shift. More specifically, it considers William Jennings Bryan's demands for the free coinage of silver that marked the Democrats' transition to federal regulatory activism, even as they continued to oppose the use of the federal bureaucracy to satisfy popular demands. One of the most prominent leaders of the free silver movement was William Stewart, the Nevada Republican who had assisted William Ralston pass the Coinage Act of 1873. Stewart would emerge as a vocal critic of the Crime of '73 and a defender of bimetallism. This chapter examines the myths that were created—and adopted by many Americans—regarding the Coinage Act of 1873. It also explains how Stewart addressed his alliance with Ralston and his role in the passage of the Coinage Act, along with his use of public ignorance to ironically become prominent in the free silver movement that was supposed to denounce him.Less
This chapter focuses on the free silver movement and how the silver issue influenced the Democratic Party's ideological shift. More specifically, it considers William Jennings Bryan's demands for the free coinage of silver that marked the Democrats' transition to federal regulatory activism, even as they continued to oppose the use of the federal bureaucracy to satisfy popular demands. One of the most prominent leaders of the free silver movement was William Stewart, the Nevada Republican who had assisted William Ralston pass the Coinage Act of 1873. Stewart would emerge as a vocal critic of the Crime of '73 and a defender of bimetallism. This chapter examines the myths that were created—and adopted by many Americans—regarding the Coinage Act of 1873. It also explains how Stewart addressed his alliance with Ralston and his role in the passage of the Coinage Act, along with his use of public ignorance to ironically become prominent in the free silver movement that was supposed to denounce him.
