#HARD WEST IN GOLD WE TRUST FREE#

In the “Cross of Gold” speech, Bryan argued that the Democratic Party’s focus on bi-metallism in its platform was justified because a gold standard alone could not solve the country’s problems at the time, including debt, small business failure, and monopolies.

#HARD WEST IN GOLD WE TRUST FREE#

Another campaign poster linked the Republican Party’s gold coin as “sound money” policy to the beneficial aspects of the party’s protectionist policy compared to the detrimental impact of the Democratic Party’s free trade policy. One article of campaign propaganda is illustrative: McKinley’s campaign issued fake dollar bills that read “In God We Trust…for the Other 53 Cents” to argue that the dollar backed by silver would only be worth 47 cents. Republican candidate William McKinley blamed the Democrats and their platform of bi-metallism for the Panic of 1893, while Republicans and Eastern banking interests called the gold standard “sound money” policy. Western miners and farmers termed it the “Crime of 1873.” Their “Free Silver” movement became a core constituency of the Democratic Party, represented by William Jennings Bryan.Ī clear partisan divide in the elections of 18 centered on the bi-metallism debate. did not accept the Gold Standard de jure until 1900). Congress responded by passing the Coinage Act of 1873, which effectively ended bi-metallism by eliminating the silver dollar and by making gold the only metallic standard (though the U.S. However, by 1873, the flood of silver into government coffers created an economic crisis. Meanwhile, Wall Street and banks in the East mobilized against the government’s policy because they would not receive as much profit on loans to farmers and the poor. In short, the government policy increased currency circulation, benefitting westerners, rural farmers, and the poor who could more easily pay off debts or make purchases. However, when silver was discovered in Nevada in the 1860s, the ratio of silver to gold sold privately or abroad increased, but the government continued to offer the 16:1 ratio. With the flood of gold to the market following the Gold Rush, people could sell their silver privately and to foreign markets at a lower ratio, thus making more money. The government valued silver at a ratio of 16:1 to gold in ounces. currency and both silver and gold specie could be turned into a Sub-Treasury Mint for dollars. For decades, both gold and silver backed U.S. To take a step back in history, the source of the issue began with the Gold Rush in 1849, which altered the bi-metallism status quo. currency, which rallied the populist base of the Democratic Party and helped Bryan win the nomination for the presidency. On this day in 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his rousing speech as a delegate to the Democratic convention declaring that mankind would not be “crucified on a cross of gold.” In the speech, Bryan, who was from the western farming state of Nebraska, advocated the inclusion of a silver standard for U.S. The election of 1896 was just as much a partisan battle over the future of American economic policy as the 2012 election.

Hard west in gold we trust