Featured Bland and Allison, Two Obscure 19th Century Politicians Who Changed Coin Collecting

Greetings fellow inmates. I't about 80 degrees here in Florida, and I spent the afternoon by my pool in the backyard, well away from other humans, except my wife. Please don't hate me for that.

At any rate, it's time for another article from the archives. I hope you enjoy it.


Richard Bland and William Allison are names that are not familiar to most Americans. Only the most dedicated of political items "junkies" might know anything about Richard Bland, and hardly anyone could recall William Allison. Yet in 1878 they got together to craft a compromise bill that would have a profound effect upon coin collecting, the Bland - Allison Act. For coin collectors it was the legislation that authorized the Morgan dollar.

Our story could begin with the Coinage Act of 1792, but in the interests of brevity, we will start with the Coinage Act of 1873. That law did many things, but the most important change it authorized from the political perspective was that it demonetized silver. Prior to then depositors could bring gold or silver to a U.S. mint and have their metal converted into U.S. coins for little or no charge. The 1873 Act ended the free coinage of silver, but allowed the free coinage of gold to continue. The United State Government still produced and issued silver coins, but they would only be made in quantities that met the needs of the economy. The essence of the 1873 coinage act was that The United States went on a de facto gold standard.

An 1873 With Arrows Quarter




At first the silver interests were not upset by this law, but as mine owners discovered more and more silver in the western states, the price of the metal began to fall. After they realized that the Coinage Act had deprived them of the ability to convert their silver into coins at little or no cost, they cried "foul" and labeled it "The Crime of '73."

The silver producing interests had other allies. Hard strapped farmers who were in debt and others who were down on their luck in whole or in part because of the "Panic of 1873," which had been a nasty recession, called for massive increases in the money supply. The less astute among this group thought that merely pouring money into the economy would bring prosperity. The more savvy advocates of cheap money noted that more cash in circulation would result in inflation which would lower the value of the dollar. Those who were in debt would be able to pay off their loans with cheaper dollars. Naturally those who held bonds, mortgages and other forms of debt were opposed to cheap money. They did not want to get back money with less buying power than the cash they had loaned. The political battle lines were drawn between the two sides.

In addition, those who were involved with international trade were also concerned. The leading nations of western Europe were on the Gold Standard, and they were concerned that The United States would try to use silver to pay its debts. Such a situation would place the value of the U.S. dollar in jeopardy which would have a series impact on American economic activity abroad.

In the House of Representatives, Democratic Congressman, Richard Bland, from Missouri introduced legislation that authorized the resumption of the free coinage of silver. Bland was so well known for his advocacy on the issue that he became known as "Silver Dick" Bland. Bland was able to get his bill passed by the House although some who voted "yea" were not enthusiastic. Many congressmen voted for it, not because they thought it was good legislation, but because they feared losing their seats if they didn't support it. An unusually high number of legislators abstained from voting.

An Allison for Senator button from the early 1900s



The bill faced a much more uncertain future in the Senate where the prevailing winds were more conservative. Yet, some senators, like Republican William Allison from Iowa, saw that things could get much worse. In 1874 a third party formed, which called itself a number of names, including the Greenback Party (the most common), the Greenback - Labor Party, the Independent Party and the National Party. The advocates for the Greenback position called for the unrestricted issuance of paper money (Greenbacks), which had been introduced during the Civil War. For many financially responsible Americans, this was a frightening possibility because the issuance of more paper money with no limits might well result in runaway inflation and the eventual devaluing or even demise of the U.S. dollar.

In 1876 the Greenback Party ran a candidate for president, Peter Cooper, who received 81,737 votes, which was a little less than 1% of the total votes cast. Although the party did not do well in presidential politics, it did receive over a million votes in Congressional elections and won 14 seats to the U.S. Congress. Clearly the influence of the Greenback movement was growing, and Senator Allison wanted to limit the amount damage that it could cause. Working with Representative Bland, the two lawmakers crafted a compromise bill. The Bland - Allison Act required the U.S. Government to purchase from two to four million dollars worth of silver every month and convert it into silver coinage. Since the silver dollar was the largest silver denomination that became the coin of choice that would fulfill the requirements of the new law.

An 1878, eight tail feather Morgan Dollar. Later in the year, the eagle would have seven tail feathers and concave and then convex breatfeathers.




In March of 1878 the first Morgan dollars were released for general circulation. Although the coins were popular in some areas of the South and in the western states, most Americans wanted little do with them. They found the coins to be large and cumbersome, and too heavy to carry around in any quantity. The vast majority of the dollars were stored in treasury vaults where they would languish for many years. The coins were used to back issues of paper money, however, which allowed the monetary expansionist advocates to have a partial victory.

Although Allison and Bland are best remembered today for their silver dollar legislation, they both had lengthy careers in the U.S. Congress. Prior to the passage of the Bland - Allison Act, William Allison graduated from college, studied law and passed the bar in 1850. In addition to his law practice he served as a district attorney starting in 1856 and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860. He served in Congress from 1863 to 1871 and declined to run for re-election in 1870. In 1872 the Iowa Legislature elected him to the United States Senate. He would be re-elected to the Senate six times. When he died in 1908 he had served 35 years and 5 months in the Senate, which was a record for service in the Senate at that time.

Richard Brand was also a lawyer. In his youth he had moved to California and then Nevada. After winning admission to the bar, Brand practiced law in Virginia City, Nevada and took a strong interest in the mining industry. This may have accounted for his commitment to represent the silver mining interests in Congress. After Nevada became a state in 1864 he moved back to Missouri. In 1872 he won a seat in Congress and served there from 1873 to 1895. He was defeated for re-election in 1894.

Here is a Brand for president button from 1896. Buttons for candidates who run for president, but who did not get their party's nomination. are called "hopefuls."




Ironically Brand was out of office when he became the front-runner for the presidential nomination at the 1896 Democratic National Convention. Brand did not have the nomination sewn up, however, because he needed a two-thirds majority of the delegates to win his party's nomination. Before the presidential balloting began, William Jennings Bryon rose to deliver his "Cross of Gold" speech. After that the delegates flocked to the young former congressman from Nebraska. Brand would win back his congressional seat in 1896 and serve in Congress until his death in 1899.

Richard Brand was the front runner for the 1896 Democratic Party presidential nominaiton. He did not have the two-thirds majority that was needed to win the the nomination at that time. (That rule changed in 1936 when FDR controlled the party.)

William Jennings Bryan got up and delivered his "Cross of Gold" speech. It was the most sucessful political speech ever given at a nominating convention. Bryan won the nomination. He was only 36 years old, one year older than the constitutional requirement to be president.

Here is a Bryan "Cross of Gold" button.



And a Bryan "16 to 1" portrait button. Note that the clock in the background is showing the time at "16 to 1."

 

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Nebraska recently replaced their Capitol statute (each state is allowed to have two representative statutes in at the Capitol in DC), which was Williams Jennings Bryan, with Chief Standing Bear.

 

Very relevant piece, especially with recent interest in MMT (modern monetary theory) and expansion of the money supply to stimulate the economy.

 

Excellent piece of history; thanks very much.

 

Reposts are not endorsements...

 

The way the Federal Government is creating and spending money, we had best hope the NMP people are right. I have strong doubts, but I went to business school and took economics in a different time.

These people claim that creating money creates demand and that the economy will respond with greater production. If it doesn't, get ready to watch the dollar turn into the marks they had in Gernmany in the early 1920s.

 

Very good write-up ,Studied William Jennings Bryan in college in a class called History of the American South. character to put it briefly. Thrice a democratic nominee, thrice a loser for president. Wildly popular but quite divisive. Great biography about him which covers the gold / bimetallism nonsense, his life, career and appeal.

'A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan' by Michael Kazin

Great read.

 

The free coinage of silver ended with the act of 1853 which made the silver coinage subsidiary. The Act of 1873 actually partially restored the free coinage of silver. Depositor could bring in their silver and have it made into coins for free but ONLY for conversion into Trade dollars, nominally for export.

In 1873 there was not a serious concern about the lack of silver coinage and people didn't care that they couldn't have their silver coined. The "Crime of 1873" didn't become an issue until around 1878 with the "Crime" being the elimination of the silver dollar in 1873. The criticism of the lack of free coinage wasn't much of an issue until after the economy crashed because of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. THEN they wanted free coinage at 16 to one because the debtors WANTED the inflation and cheaper dollars to pay off their creditors.

 

Nice article. It's also worth knowing that the name Morgan Dollar was not used until much later. When it was first struck, it was referred to by many as the Bland Dollar.

This is a proof 1878 8TF Morgan that was engraved for a silver wedding anniversary in May 1878, with the inscription invoking Bland. (Picture from the NNP)