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<p>[QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 4982194, member: 101855"]From what I have read about Bryan, he was well-informed when he served two terms in Congress in the early 1890s. Then he got into presidential politics and made the "free silver" his main issue. It carried him to three presidential nominations, and made him enough of a force in the party to get Woodrow Wilson nominated in 1912 and even get a vice presidential nomination for his brother in 1924.</p><p><br /></p><p>When Bryan was asked about how his plans would actually work, he said that he didn't know and that he'd have to study that later. This is why is his critics said that Bryan's brain pan was like the Platt River, a mile wide and a foot deep. But Bryan was really great at making stem winding speeches. His "Cross of Gold" speach at the 1896 Democratic Convention was the most successful political speach in U.S. history.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1196925[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>As for the free silver issue itself, it resonated strongly with two groups, silver mine owners (no surprise there) and farmers. Many farmers were up to their butts in debt and couldn’t pay it off. The solutions were higher crop prices and general inflation which would allow them to pay off their debts with cheaper dollars.</p><p><br /></p><p>There had long been a third party, called the Greenback Party, which advocated issuing paper money to inflate the economy. They were always on the ballot in the 1880s but never got anywhere. Their most famous candidate was Ben Butler, the Civil War general. Here is satirical note that pretty much summed up what would happen if their proposals were enacted. If you read the fine print, you will find it interesting.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1196894[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1196895[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>After the paper money idea didn’t get any results, silver became the next best thing. There was so much of it coming out of the mines in the western states that the economy could not use it all. The silver lobby got the U.S. Government to buy vast quantities of it and turn it into Morgan Dollars. That’s why these 100 year old coins are still cheap today, even in Mint State.</p><p><br /></p><p>The silver lobby wanted the “free coinage” of silver. That meant that the U.S. mint system would convert all of the silver that was brought to it into coins with no limits. Unlike the previous legislation where the government was obligated to buy a fixed amount every month, all of the controls would come off, and the mints would turn as much in silver coins as the silver owners could bring to them.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1196905[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The “free coinage of silver” would result in a massive increase in the money supply which would result in price inflation for goods and services. The farmers would get more for their crops in inflated dollars, and pay their debts with those less valuable dollars.</p><p><br /></p><p>Needless to say, the banking industry did not like that idea. Neither did the eastern factory owners who were looking for the stability proved by the Gold Standard.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1196917[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Bryan ran a remarkable campaign in 1896 and almost won. If the election had been held in October, he might very well have become President. He ran again in 1900 and did not do as well because the economy had improved. He did even worse in 1908. Even he admitted it. Here is a 1900 button that summed up the reasons why Bryan did not win.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1196918[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a logo that was devised for the Bryan campaign in 1908. It symbolizes those who supported him the strongest.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1196926[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 4982194, member: 101855"]From what I have read about Bryan, he was well-informed when he served two terms in Congress in the early 1890s. Then he got into presidential politics and made the "free silver" his main issue. It carried him to three presidential nominations, and made him enough of a force in the party to get Woodrow Wilson nominated in 1912 and even get a vice presidential nomination for his brother in 1924. When Bryan was asked about how his plans would actually work, he said that he didn't know and that he'd have to study that later. This is why is his critics said that Bryan's brain pan was like the Platt River, a mile wide and a foot deep. But Bryan was really great at making stem winding speeches. His "Cross of Gold" speach at the 1896 Democratic Convention was the most successful political speach in U.S. history. [ATTACH=full]1196925[/ATTACH] As for the free silver issue itself, it resonated strongly with two groups, silver mine owners (no surprise there) and farmers. Many farmers were up to their butts in debt and couldn’t pay it off. The solutions were higher crop prices and general inflation which would allow them to pay off their debts with cheaper dollars. There had long been a third party, called the Greenback Party, which advocated issuing paper money to inflate the economy. They were always on the ballot in the 1880s but never got anywhere. Their most famous candidate was Ben Butler, the Civil War general. Here is satirical note that pretty much summed up what would happen if their proposals were enacted. If you read the fine print, you will find it interesting. [ATTACH=full]1196894[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1196895[/ATTACH] After the paper money idea didn’t get any results, silver became the next best thing. There was so much of it coming out of the mines in the western states that the economy could not use it all. The silver lobby got the U.S. Government to buy vast quantities of it and turn it into Morgan Dollars. That’s why these 100 year old coins are still cheap today, even in Mint State. The silver lobby wanted the “free coinage” of silver. That meant that the U.S. mint system would convert all of the silver that was brought to it into coins with no limits. Unlike the previous legislation where the government was obligated to buy a fixed amount every month, all of the controls would come off, and the mints would turn as much in silver coins as the silver owners could bring to them. [ATTACH=full]1196905[/ATTACH] The “free coinage of silver” would result in a massive increase in the money supply which would result in price inflation for goods and services. The farmers would get more for their crops in inflated dollars, and pay their debts with those less valuable dollars. Needless to say, the banking industry did not like that idea. Neither did the eastern factory owners who were looking for the stability proved by the Gold Standard. [ATTACH=full]1196917[/ATTACH] Bryan ran a remarkable campaign in 1896 and almost won. If the election had been held in October, he might very well have become President. He ran again in 1900 and did not do as well because the economy had improved. He did even worse in 1908. Even he admitted it. Here is a 1900 button that summed up the reasons why Bryan did not win. [ATTACH=full]1196918[/ATTACH] Here is a logo that was devised for the Bryan campaign in 1908. It symbolizes those who supported him the strongest. [ATTACH=full]1196926[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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