Sherman Silver Purchase Act
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a
The measure did not authorize the free and unlimited coinage of
Originally, the bill was simply known as the Silver Purchase Act of 1890. Only after the bill was signed into law did it become the "Sherman Silver Purchase Act."[6] Senator John Sherman, an Ohio Republican and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was not the author of the bill, but once both houses of Congress had passed the Act and the Act had been sent to a Senate/House conference committee to settle differences between the Senate and House versions of the Act, Senator John Sherman was instrumental in getting the conference committee to reach agreement on a final draft of the Act.[6] Nonetheless, once agreement on the final version was reached in the conference committee, Sherman found that he disagreed with many sections of the act.[6] So tepid was Sherman's support that when he was asked his opinion of the act by President Benjamin Harrison, Sherman ventured only that the bill was "safe" and would cause no harm if the President signed it.[2]
The act was enacted in tandem with the McKinley Tariff of 1890. William McKinley, an Ohio Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, worked with John Sherman to create a package that could both pass the Senate and receive the President's approval.
Under the Act, the federal government purchased millions of ounces of silver, with issues of paper currency. It became the second-largest buyer in the world, after the British Crown in India, where the
In 1890, the price of silver dipped to $1.16 per ounce. By the end of the year, it had fallen to $0.69. By December 1894, the price had dropped to $0.60. On November 1, 1895, US mints halted production of silver coins, and the government closed the Carson City Mint. Banks discouraged the use of silver dollars.[5] The years 1893–95 had the lowest productions of Morgan dollars for the entire series, creating several scarce coins.[8]
References
- (Google Books).
- ^ a b c Socolofsky & Spetter 1987, p. 59.
- ^ Allen 1999, p. 252.
- ^ Answers.com, Sherman Silver Purchase Act; accessed 2009.04.08.
- ^ a b Van Dusen 2013, pp. 141–142.
- ^ a b c Socolofsky & Spetter 1987, p. 58.
- ISBN 9781400069651.
- ^ Morgan Silver Dollars (1878–1921)
Sources
- Allen, Larry (1999). "Sherman Silver Act of 1890 (United States)". The Encyclopedia of Money (1st ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ISBN 978-1-57607-037-6.
- Socolofsky, Homer E.; Spetter, Allan B. (1987). The Presidency of Benjamin Harrison. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-0320-6.
- Van Dusen, Laura King (2013). "Sherman Silver Purchase Act". Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past. Charleston, SC: The History Press. ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7.
External links
- The full text of President Cleveland Message on the Repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act at Wikisource