THE GOLD STANDARD
VERSUS
THE SILVER STANDARD
THE OLD AMERICAN MONEY SYSTEM
Under the old system of money in the
United States the paper money issued by the
government had to be backed by gold.
This meant that there had to be a certain
quantity of gold in the bank to back up every
dollar in circulation.
The system was called the Gold Standard
DOLLARS EQUAL GOLD
=
WHY WAS THERE A PROBLEM WITH
THE GOLD STANDARD?
During the Civil War, the U.S. government
issued greenbacks to increase the amount of
money, however, greenbacks were retired
following the war leading to a $ issue
The American economy faced
DEFLATION due to a low amount of $ in
circulation
THE BIG BATTLE
V
S
THE FIGHT OVER SILVER AND GOLD
The main fight over the Silver versus
the Gold standard was fought between:
BANKS: They wanted the stick with the
gold standard and keep prices low so they
would make more money.
FARMERS: They wanted to use more silver
to back the money. This would raise prices,
and they would find it easier to make
money and pay back the banks.
The Election of 1896:
Create a character comparison handout briefly describing each
candidate and highlighting the main viewpoints of
William Jennings Bryan & William McKinley
Be sure to include the political party of each candidate and their
main viewpoints especially towards the gold vs silver issue.
Page 202-203 from your textbook will be very helpful
The Election of 1896
William Jennings Bryan
William McKinley