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Who did free silver benefit?

Who did free silver benefit?

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 the West. It had little support among farmers in the Northeast and the Corn Belt (the eastern Midwest).

Why did farmers advocate for the free coinage of silver or Bimetallism?

Why did farmers support backing money with silver quizlet? A major policy issue in the late 19th century, advocates for free silver wanted an inflation in monetary policy using the free coinage of silver. Farmers would benefit from higher prices for crops, and wanted silver.

Which president supported the silver mining industry?

William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign

William Jennings Bryan for President
Affiliation Democratic Party; also endorsed by Populist Party and National Silver Party
Status Defeated: November 3, 1896
Headquarters Chicago

Why did most farmers support the free silver movement quizlet?

Farmers wanted to expand the currency supply by coining an unlimited amount of silver. They believed that if more money was in circulation, prices would go up for all goods, including farm products. If profits increased on their crops, farmers could pay their debts.

Why was the silver question so important?

Efforts to induce inflation into the American economy, the panacea of debtors, had been present from earliest times. In 1837, Congress established a relationship between silver and gold at the ratio of 16 to 1 (meaning that 16 ounces of silver were to be equal in value to one ounce of gold). …

What was the free silver movement quizlet?

political agenda adopted by the populist party in 1892 at their Omaha, Nebraska convention. Called for unlimited coinage of silver (bimetallism), government regulation of railroads and industry, graduated income tax, and a number of election reforms.

Why did farmers support the Free Silver movement?

Farmers believed a bi-metallic money supply would go a long way toward helping them solve their financial problems. Basically supporters of the free silver movement thought that bimetallism would help the economy by causing inflation. This would help farmers and others who had too much debt.

Why did farmers believe in gold and silver?

Farmers were suffering because prices for their crops were very low, and they had to borrow money at interest rates that were quite high. They believed that a money supply based on both gold and silver would help to alleviate their problems.

Why was silver added to the money supply?

These “silverites” contended that adding silver coins to the money supply would make more money available for higher wages, farmers’ profits and debtors needing to pay off loans. It also would boost profits for Western silver mine owners and benefit their employes.

Why did the supporters of free silver want inflation?

If money comes to be worth less, those who are in debt benefit because the money they are paying back is worth less than the money they borrowed. Supporters of free silver wanted to cause inflation to help farmers get out of debt more easily, thus (in their minds) helping the economy.