History of the United States

In the United States, bimetallism (gold vs silver) became a center of political conflict toward the end of the nineteenth century. Newly discovered silver mines in the American West caused an effective decrease in the value of money. In 1873, in order to de-monetize silver, the government passed the Fourth Coinage Act, just as these silver resources were beginning to be exploited. Proponents of monetary silver, known as the Silverites, referred to this act as "The Crime of '73," as it was judged to have inhibited inflation. Instead deflation resulted, causing problems for farmers with large mortgages who found they could sell their goods for only a fraction of their post-Civil War price.

In addition, improvements in transport meant it was cheaper for farmers to ship their grain to Europe, and they over-expanded production until there was a glut on the market. The Panic of 1893 was a severe nationwide depression that brought the money issue to the fore. The "silverites" argued that using silver would inflate themoney supply and mean more cash for everyone, which they equated with prosperity. The gold advocates said silver would permanently depress the economy, but thatsound money produced by a gold standard would restore prosperity.

Grover Cleveland was known for his honesty, and integrity. His election in 1884 ended 24 years of Republican occupation of the White house and was largely due to his reputation for honesty and the reputation corruption that Republican officials had gained through the years.

The National Woman Suffrage Association.

the coinage of "free silver"

The people in steerage were at the bottom of the ship and below water level. There were no windows, no rooms, and very little of anything else. The ships in the 1900's divided decks according to classes of people. The decks were separated with locked gates and the upper deck people who paid the most for passage never met or saw the people on the other decks. The immigrants below were locked in so they couldn't have access to the upper decks. They were considered the poorest dirtiest people on the ship so we're sold the worse accommodations.

The supreme court ruled in cases affecting the rights of Chinese immigrants in a fair manner. In its ruling, the supreme court that the number of Chinese immigrants coming into the country should be limited. However, any Chinese immigrants who were in the country would have security of tenure in their jobs.

Consumption patterns were most influenced by transportation.

a new emphasis on acquiring goods.

breaking down barriers to women attending college

Bryan toured the country and spoke directly to the people