Crime of 1873
E553258
The "Crime of 1873" is a pejorative term used by critics to describe the U.S. law that ended the minting of silver dollars and effectively placed the country on a de facto gold standard, which they blamed for deflation and economic hardship.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
historical event
ⓘ
monetary policy controversy ⓘ pejorative term ⓘ |
| appliedTo | U.S. monetary system ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Free Silver movement
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Long Depression NERFINISHED ⓘ Panic of 1873 NERFINISHED ⓘ bimetallism debate in the United States ⓘ late 19th-century deflation ⓘ |
| controversyOver | role of silver in the U.S. monetary standard ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticizedBy |
Populists
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
bimetallists ⓘ farmers ⓘ silver interests ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
causing economic hardship for farmers and debtors
ⓘ
causing or worsening deflation ⓘ |
| date | 1873 ⓘ |
| describedAs | end of the minting of standard silver dollars ⓘ |
| effect |
demonetization of silver
ⓘ
ended free coinage of silver for standard silver dollars ⓘ placed the United States on a de facto gold standard ⓘ reduction of bimetallism in the United States ⓘ |
| followedBy |
Bland–Allison Act of 1878
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 NERFINISHED ⓘ political campaigns for the remonetization of silver ⓘ |
| hasCause | Coinage Act of 1873 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalContext |
global move toward the gold standard in the 19th century
ⓘ
post–Civil War U.S. monetary reconstruction ⓘ |
| influenced |
1896 United States presidential election monetary debate
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| labelUsedBy | opponents of the Coinage Act of 1873 ⓘ |
| legalBasis | act signed by President Ulysses S. Grant ⓘ |
| perceivedImpactOn |
agricultural prices
ⓘ
real burden of debts ⓘ rural economies ⓘ |
| policyChange |
elimination of the standard silver dollar from the list of coins to be minted
ⓘ
restriction of silver coinage to subsidiary coins ⓘ shift from bimetallism toward gold monometallism ⓘ |
| refersTo | Coinage Act of 1873 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Free Silver
ⓘ
bimetallism ⓘ deflation ⓘ gold standard ⓘ monetary policy of the United States ⓘ |
| terminologyOrigin | coined by critics of the Coinage Act of 1873 ⓘ |
| viewedByOpponentsAs | deliberate favoring of creditors and financial interests over debtors ⓘ |
| viewedBySupportersAs | modernization and rationalization of the coinage system ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.