No, it was the businessmen who were opposed.
The Populists Party represented the views of the ordinary people. It mostly consisted of farmers and those who preferred the free coinage of silver.
The Coinage Act of 1873 stopped the minting of silver coins.
People in the Populist party had interest in the free coinage of silver, were mostly created by labor and farmers, wanted a graduated income tax, and government control of monopolies.
People who would support William Jennings Bryan would be most likely farmers and people who supported the use of silver for money and not only the use of the gold standard.An evangelical ProtestantA small farmer in KansasNevada silver minerspopulistscotton farmers
The Populist Party advocated for the coinage of free silver primarily to increase the money supply and combat deflation, which they believed disproportionately harmed farmers and working-class citizens. By allowing the unlimited minting of silver, they aimed to make credit more accessible and improve inflation, thereby raising crop prices and easing debts. This policy was seen as a way to empower the agrarian community against the interests of banks and industrialists. Ultimately, free silver was viewed as a means to achieve greater economic equality and social justice.
Farmers
farmers
The southerners and the westerners primarily favored the free coinage system.
the coinage of "free silver"
farmers, or silver democrats Bryan was famous for his "Cross Of Gold" speech, which advocated the coinage of silver, which would be beneficial to farmers and the like.
In my view, the industrialists feared that coinage of silver would increase the money supply and thereby lower interest rates to the benefit of the debtors, such as farmers, and the detriment of the creditors, such as the industrialists.
In my view, the industrialists feared that coinage of silver would increase the money supply and thereby lower interest rates to the benefit of the debtors, such as farmers, and the detriment of the creditors, such as the industrialists.
In my view, the industrialists feared that coinage of silver would increase the money supply and thereby lower interest rates to the benefit of the debtors, such as farmers, and the detriment of the creditors, such as the industrialists.
silver coinage induced inflation which was beneficial to the farmers because it allowed farmers to pay loans of quicker and loans themselves were easier to acquire with the larger supply of money.
the coinage of "free silver"
The Populists Party represented the views of the ordinary people. It mostly consisted of farmers and those who preferred the free coinage of silver.
The Populist Party appealed strongly to farmers who were deep in debt and felt betrayed by the traditional political parties. It proposed a progressive income tax and would allow the free coinage of silver which appealed to many others.