![]() The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The sympathies of the Democratic party, as shown by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic party. Carlisle said in 1878 that this was a struggle between "the idle holders of idle capital" and "the struggling masses, who produce the wealth and pay the taxes of the country" and, my friends, the question we are to decide is: Upon which side will the Democratic party fight upon the side of "the idle holders of idle capital" or upon the side of "the struggling masses"? That is the question which the party must answer first, and then it must be answered by each individual hereafter. The excerpt also links the issue to the Democratic Party’s position on international trade. The excerpt from the “ Cross of Gold” speech below resounds with populist rhetoric, though the speech itself took the wind out of the Populist Party’s sails, rallying supporters to the Democratic Party. Bryan favored a regulatory role for government in issuing money and called for banks to “go out of the governing business.” According to Bryan, if silver was restored, “all other necessary reforms will be possible.” He compared the situation to fights over the national bank, arguing that “What we need is an Andrew Jackson to stand, as Jackson stood, against the encroachments of organized wealth.” In the speech, Bryan also connects the Democratic Party’s tradition since Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson against moneyed interests in favor of the little guy. 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. 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. ![]()
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