Free+Silver

Free Silver ​ ​ Free Silver was a major politcal issue in the years between the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its supporters were called silverites and would mainly benefit people in rural areas suffering from major debt by inflating the economy, while people in urban areas disliked it mainly for the inflation it would cause. Many populists and radical reformers supported the movement of "free coinage", they felt it would benefit farmers and other debtors come out of their debt a lot faster and cheaper. While landlords and bankers opposed this movement as they felt they would never get the full amount of money they had deserved in the first place. Grover Cleveland (Presidency) soon inacted the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 which made the government buy up most silver. But after the Panic of 1893​ he repealed the act. After the 1896 election the “free coinage” movement was dropped and not brought up as a major issue for campaigns.