WESTWARD EXPANSION INDUSTRIALIZATION URBANIZATION 1870 1900
AMERICAN INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT IN THE GILDED AGE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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restoration of protective tariffs.
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enactment of an income tax.
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government programs for those unemployed because as a result of the depression.
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the rights of farmers and industrial workers.
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free and unlimited coinage of silver.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Free silver was the central issue for Democrats in the presidential elections of 1896 and 1900, under the leadership of William Jennings Bryan, famed for his Cross of Gold speech in favor of free silver. The Populists also endorsed Bryan and free silver in 1896, which marked the effective end of their independence.
Detailed explanation-2: -Bryan wanted the United States to use silver to back the dollar at a value that would inflate the prices farmers received for their crops, easing their debt burden. This position was known as the Free Silver Movement.
Detailed explanation-3: -When farm prices improved in the early 1880s, pressure for new monetary legislation declined, but the collapse of land and farm prices beginning in 1887 revived the demand by farmers for the unlimited coinage of silver.
Detailed explanation-4: -Farmers believed the gold standard caused the depression. U.S. currency was based on gold, and farmers argued this kept the money supply from expanding with the economy. So, they championed free silver, which became the central issue of the presidential election of 1896.