The Silverites were members of a political movement in the United States in the late-19th century that advocated that silver should continue to be a monetary standard along with gold , as authorized under the Coinage Act of 1792 . The Silverite coalition's famous slogan was "16 to 1" – that is, the ratio of sixteen ounces of silver equal in value to one ounce of gold, a ratio similar to that established in the Coinage Act of 1834 . Silverites belonged to a number of political parties, including the Silver Party , Populist Party , Democratic Party , and the Silver Republican Party .
38-595: The Silverites advocated free coinage of silver . They wanted to lower the gold standard of the United States to silver therefore allowing inflation of the money supply. Many Silverites were in the West , where silver was mined. Advocates predicted that if silver were used as the standard of money, they would be able to pay off all of their debt. The debt amount would stay the same but they would have more silver money with which to pay it. The Silverites' main presidential candidate
76-497: A bimetallic money system making use of both silver and gold , called " Silverites ", sought coinage of silver dollars at a fixed weight ratio of 16-to-1 against dollar coins made of gold. Because the actual price ratio of the two metals was substantially higher in favor of gold at the time, most economists warned that the less valuable silver coinage would drive the more valuable gold out of circulation . While all agreed that an expanded money supply would inevitably inflate prices,
114-513: A revision in our silver policy to reflect the status of silver as a metal for which there is an expanding industrial demand. Except for its use in coins, silver serves no useful monetary function. In 1961, at my direction, sales of silver were suspended by the Secretary of the Treasury. As further steps, I recommend repeal of those Acts that oblige the Treasury to support the price of silver; and repeal of
152-517: The Democratic Party moved the latter from the support of the gold standard which had been the hallmark of the Cleveland administration to the free-silver position epitomized by 1896 presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan in his Cross of Gold speech . Bryan's 1896 candidacy was supported by Populists and "silver Republicans" as well as by most Democrats. The issue was over what would back
190-558: The United States Department of the Treasury by replacing Federal Reserve Notes with silver certificates. Author Richard Belzer named the responsible parties in this theory as American "billionaires, power brokers, and bankers ... working in tandem with the CIA and other sympathetic agents of the government." Critics of the theory note that Executive Order 11110 was a technicality that only delegated existing presidential powers to
228-550: The robber barons of the Gilded Age capitalism era and was referred to as the "People's Money" (as opposed to the gold-based currency, which was portrayed by the Populists as the money of "exploitation" and "oppression"). William H. Harvey's popular pamphlet Coin's Financial School , issued in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893 , illustrated the "restorative" properties of silver; through
266-412: The 1970s, large numbers of the remaining silver dollars in the mint vaults were sold to the collecting public for collector value. In 1982, Congress repealed the remaining legislative authority behind E.O. 11110 with the passage of Pub. L. 97–258 . On September 9, 1987, as part of a general clean-up of executive orders, President Ronald Reagan issued Executive Order 12608 , which removed
304-640: The Northeast, along with railroads, factories, and businessmen, who were creditors deriving benefit from deflation and repayment of loans with valuable gold dollars, against farmers who would benefit from higher prices for their crops and an easing of credit burdens. Free silver was especially popular among farmers in the Wheat Belt (the western Midwest) and the Cotton Belt (the Deep South ), as well as silver miners in
342-567: The President's own authority under the Agricultural Adjustment Act. President Kennedy's Executive Order (E.O.) 11110 modified the pre-existing Executive Order 10289 issued by U.S. President Harry S. Truman on September 17, 1951, and stated the following: The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby designated and empowered to perform the following-described functions of the President without the approval, ratification, or other action of
380-417: The President... E.O. 10289 then lists tasks (a) through (h) which the Secretary may now do without instruction from the President. None of the powers assigned to the Treasury in E.O. 10289 relate to money or to monetary policy. President Kennedy's E.O. 11110, in its entirety, follows: SECTION 1. Executive Order No. 10289 of September 19 [sic], 1951, as amended, is hereby further amended -- (a) By adding at
418-593: The Silver Purchase Act of 1934 and related laws, repealed a tax on silver transfers, and authorized the Federal Reserve to issue one- and two-dollar bills, in addition to the notes they were already issuing. The Silver Purchase Act had authorized and required the Secretary of the Treasury to buy silver and issue silver certificates. With its repeal, the President needed to delegate to the Treasury Secretary
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#1732880616256456-717: The Treasury Department. Increasing demand for silver as an industrial metal had led to an increase in the market price of silver above the United States government's fixed price . This led to a decline in the government's excess silver reserves by over 80% during 1961. Kennedy also called upon Congress to phase out silver certificates in favor of Federal Reserve notes which, according to the Associated Press at that time, were still backed by gold. Kennedy repeated his calls for Congress to act on several occasions, including his 1963 Economic Report, where he wrote: I again urge
494-695: The US currency. The two options were gold (wanted by the "Goldbugs" and William McKinley ) and silver (wanted by the Silverites and Bryan). Unbacked paper (wanted by the Greenbacks ) represented a third option. A fourth option, a currency backed by land value, was advocated by Senator Leland Stanford through several Senate bills introduced in 1890–1892, but was always killed by the Senate Finance Committee. Three fraternal organizations rose to prominence during
532-564: The West. It had little support among farmers in the Northeast and the Corn Belt (the eastern Midwest). Free silver was the central issue for Democrats in the presidential elections of 1896 and 1900 , under the leadership of William Jennings Bryan , famed for his Cross of Gold speech in favor of free silver. The Populists also endorsed Bryan and free silver in 1896, which marked the effective end of their independence. In major elections, free silver
570-408: The best road to national prosperity was " sound money ", or gold, which was central to international trade. They argued that inflation meant guaranteed higher prices for everyone, and real gains chiefly for the silver interests. In 1896 Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado led many western Republicans to bolt and form a third party that supported Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan ,
608-509: The creditors such as banks and landlords. The most vocal and best-organized supporters were the silver mine owners (such as William Randolph Hearst ) and workers, and the western states and territories generally, as most U.S. silver production was based there and the region had a great number of highly indebted farmers and ranchers. Outside the mining states of the West, the Republican Party steadfastly opposed free silver, arguing that
646-469: The date of this Order but all such liabilities shall continue and may be enforced as if said amendments had not been made. JOHN F. KENNEDY THE WHITE HOUSE, June 4, 1963 In March 1964, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon halted redemption of silver certificates for silver dollars as Kennedy had intended. As of 25 March 1964, silver certificates would be redeemed in silver bullion only. On June 24, 1968, all redemption in silver ceased. In
684-415: The devaluation of the currency, closed factories would reopen, darkened furnaces would be relit, and the like. But progressive activist Henry Demarest Lloyd held a harshly critical view, writing: "The free silver movement is a fake. Free silver is the cowbird of the reform movement. It waited until the nest had been built by the sacrifices and labor of others, and then it lay its own eggs in it, pushing out
722-521: The early 1960s the silver content in United States dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and silver dollars was worth only a fraction of their face values. Free coinage of silver would have amounted to an increase in the money supply, resulting in inflation. Many populist organizations favored an inflationary monetary policy because it would enable debtors (often farmers who had mortgages on their land) to pay their debts off with cheaper, more readily available dollars. Those who would suffer under this policy were
760-833: The end of paragraph 1 thereof the following subparagraph (j): "(j) The authority vested in the President by paragraph (b) of section 43 of the Act of May 12, 1933, as amended (31 U.S.C. 821 (b)), to issue silver certificates against any silver bullion, silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury not then held for redemption of any outstanding silver certificates, to prescribe the denominations of such silver certificates, and to coin standard silver dollars and subsidiary silver currency for their redemption," and (b) By revoking subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 thereof. SEC. 2. The amendment made by this Order shall not affect any act done, or any right accruing or accrued or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil or criminal cause prior to
798-420: The issue was whether this inflation would be beneficial or not. The issue peaked from 1893 to 1896, when the economy was suffering from a severe depression characterized by falling prices ( deflation ), high unemployment in industrial areas, and severe distress for farmers. It ranks as the 11th largest decline in U.S. stock market history. The "free silver" debate pitted the pro-gold financial establishment of
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#1732880616256836-507: The mid-1890s and supported the silver campaign in 1896. They all disappeared after the failure of the campaign. The city voters—especially German Americans—overwhelmingly rejected the free-silver cause out of the conviction that it would lead to economic disaster, unemployment, and higher prices. The diversified farmers of the Midwest and East opposed it as well, but the cotton farmers in the South and
874-485: The others which lie smashed on the ground." In 1934, the passage of the Silver Purchase Act revived the debate stirred by Grover Cleveland's 1893 repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. The new law granted the U.S. president and U.S. secretary of treasury the authority to purchase silver, issue silver certificates, and also nationalize U.S. mines. The law also included a 50¢ tax on profits from
912-508: The passage of Pub. L. 97–258 . Jim Marrs , in his book Crossfire , presented the theory that Kennedy was trying to rein in the power of the Federal Reserve , and that forces opposed to such action might have played some part in Kennedy's assassination. Marrs alleges that the issuance of Executive Order 11110 was an effort by Kennedy to transfer power from the Federal Reserve to
950-620: The president's authority to issue silver certificates under the Thomas Amendment of the Agricultural Adjustment Act , as amended by the Gold Reserve Act . The order allowed the Secretary to issue silver certificates, if any were needed, during the transition period under President Kennedy's plan to eliminate Silver Certificates and use Federal Reserve Notes. On November 28, 1961, President Kennedy halted sales of silver by
988-444: The president's request early in 1963, and passed HR 5389 on April 10, 1963, by a vote of 251 to 122. The Senate passed the bill on May 23, by a vote of 68 to 10. Kennedy signed the bill into law on June 4, 1963, and on the same day signed an executive order (11110) authorizing the Treasury Secretary to continue printing silver certificates during the transition period. The act, which became Public Law 88-36 (77 Stat. 54), repealed
1026-419: The same principle, although the market value of the silver in circulating coins of the United States was substantially less than face value. As a result, the monetary value of silver coins was based on government fiat rather than on the commodity value of their contents, and this became especially true following the huge silver strikes in the West, which further depressed the silver price. From that time until
1064-435: The short-lived Silver Republican Party . The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, while falling short of free silver's goals, required the U.S. government to buy millions of ounces of silver (driving up the price of the metal and pleasing silver miners) for money (pleasing farmers and many others). However, the U.S. government paid for that silver bullion in gold notes—and actually reduced their coinage of silver. The result
1102-451: The silver tax. In 1943, the overprints were discontinued, and the Silver Purchase Act of 1934 would be fully repealed in 1963. Executive Order 11110#Public Law 88-36 Executive Order 11110 was issued by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on June 4, 1963. This executive order amended Executive Order 10289 (dated September 17, 1951) by delegating to the Secretary of the Treasury
1140-523: The special 50-percent tax on transfers of interest in silver and authorization for the Federal Reserve System to issue notes in denominations of $ 1, so as to make possible the gradual withdrawal of silver certificates from circulation and the use of the silver thus released for coinage purposes. I urge the Congress to take prompt action on these recommended changes. The House of Representatives took up
1178-470: The text which had been added to E.O. 10289 by E.O. 11110. Specifically, E.O. 12608 revoked subparagraph (j) of paragraph 1 of E.O. 10289, as amended by E.O. 11110. Although E.O. 12608 explicitly revoked the relevant portion of E.O. 10289 which had been added by E.O. 11110, thereby effectively revoking E.O. 11110 as such, the original legislative authority underpinning the order had, of course, already been nullified five years earlier, in 1982, by Congress, with
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1216-520: The transfer of silver bullion and financing a "Silver Tax Stamp". After the law was passed, the U.S. Treasury paid rates for silver well over its 1934 value, achieving the hoped-for result, raising the price of silver from 45¢ to 81¢ an ounce. However, overprints on the Silver Stamp Taxes, which ranged from 1¢ to $ 1,000, also presented a problem for free, nationally owned silver. These were stamps attached to transfer memoranda to indicate payment of
1254-447: The unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adherence to the more carefully fixed money supply implicit in the gold standard . Free silver became increasingly associated with populism , unions, and the perceived struggle of ordinary Americans against the bankers, monopolists, and robber barons of the Gilded Age . Hence, it became known as the "People's Money". Supporters of an important place for silver in
1292-406: The wheat farmers in the West were enthusiastic for free silver. Bryan tried again in 1900 to raise the issue but lost by larger margins, and when he dropped the issue it fell out of circulation. Subsequent actions to revive the issue were unsuccessful. Free silver became increasingly associated with populism , unions, and the fight of ordinary Americans against the bankers, railroad monopolists, and
1330-467: Was William Jennings Bryan , whose famous Cross of Gold speech argued in their favor. He unsuccessfully ran for president several times. This article related to the politics of the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Free coinage of silver Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring
1368-471: Was a "run" on the U.S. Treasury's gold reserves, which was one of the many reasons for the Panic of 1893 and the onset of the 1890s Depression. Once he regained power, and after the Panic of 1893 had begun, Grover Cleveland engineered the repeal of the act, setting the stage for the key issue of the next presidential election. The Populist Party had a strong free-silver element. Its subsequent combination with
1406-458: Was completely repealed by Public Law 88-36 . Under the gold specie standard, anyone in possession of gold bullion could deposit it at a mint where it would then be processed into gold coins. Less a nominal seigniorage to cover processing costs, the coins would then be paid to the depositor; this was free coinage of gold by definition. The objective of the free silver movement was that the mints should accept and process silver bullion according to
1444-528: Was consistently defeated, and after 1896 the nation moved to the gold standard. The debate over silver lasted from the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act in 1873, which demonetized silver and was called the "Crime of '73" by opponents, until 1963, when the Silver Purchase Act of 1934 (also known as Executive Order 6814 ), which allowed the President and the Department of the Treasury to regulate US silver,
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