Explain why the currency question became a key issue in American politics in the late nineteenth century. Define "free silver" and identify its supporters and opponents and tell why they held their respective views

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Currency became an issue because of the post-Civil War deflation. The money supply did not keep up with the productivity of the economy, thus, prices fell. Advocates of free silver wanted to inflate the currency and raise prices by replacing the gold standard with a bimetallic standard by adding silver. Gold and silver together put more money in circulation than gold alone, thus, inflation would raise prices. Rising prices would increase the income of farmers and they, like other debtors, would no longer be borrowing money that was less dear than that they had to pay back.