The Crime of 1873 ,history..

[undergroundpanther]

History
The dollar was unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States on July 6, 1785. This was the first time a nation had adopted a decimal currency system. Until 1974 the value of the United States dollar was tied to and backed by silver, gold, or a combination of the two. From 1792 to 1873 the U.S. dollar was freely backed by Both gold and Silver at a ratio of 15:1 under a system known as bimetallism. Through a series of legislative changes from 1873 to 1900, the status of Silver was slowly diminished until 1900 When a gold standard was formally adopted. The gold standard survived, with Several modifications, until 1971. Thus the dollar was defined to be 371.25 grains (24.06 g) of Silver or 24.75 grains (1.60 g) of gold and could be exchanged at the mint for either Silver or gold in this 15:1 ratio. This standard, known as bimetallism, was used through much of the 19th century. In 1834, due to a drop in the value of silver, the 15:1 ratio was changed to a 16:1 ratio. This created a new U.S. dollar that was backed by 1.50 g (23.2 grains) of gold. However, the previous dollar had been represented by 1.60 g (24.75 grains) of gold. The result of this revaluation, which was the first-ever devaluation of the U.S. dollar, reduced its gold value by 6%. The discovery of large Silver deposits in the Western United States in the late 19th century created a political controversy. On one side were agrarian interests such as the United States Greenback Party who wanted to retain the bimetallic standard in order to inflate the dollar, which would allow farmers to more easily repay their debts. On the Other side were Eastern Banking and commercial interests who advocated sound money and a switch to the gold standard. This issue split the Democratic Party in 1896. It led to the famous "cross of gold" speech given by William Jennings Bryan, and may have inspired many of the themes in The Wizard of Oz. In 1878 the Bland-Allison Act was enacted to provide for freer coinage of silver. This act required the government to purchase between $2 million and $4 million worth of Silver bullion each month at market prices and to coin it into Silver dollars. This was, in effect, a subsidy for politically influential Silver producers.

http://united-states-dollar.iqnaut.net/

http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9311329

http://www.shout.net/~bigred/Crime1873.html