The Free Silver movement advocated monetary policy based on which mechanism?

The Free Silver movement advocated monetary policy based on which mechanism?

• A. Gold Standard
• B. Free Silver (free coinage of silver)
• C. Fiat Currency
• D. Bimetallism

Answer: (B)

Expanding the money supply through silver coinage is the idea behind the Free Silver movement. It argued that silver should be minted into currency without limits, raising the amount of money in circulation. With more money chasing goods, prices could rise and debts would become easier to repay, which farmers and other debtors favored in the late 1800s. The mechanism this movement championed is free coinage of silver—money created from silver coinage by the government. This differs from a gold standard, which ties the money supply to gold and tends to restrict inflation; fiat currency, which is money declared legal tender by the government without metal backing; and even though some viewed it as tied to a broader bimetallic idea, the specific policy the Free Silver movement pressed for was the free coinage of silver.

Expanding the money supply through silver coinage is the idea behind the Free Silver movement. It argued that silver should be minted into currency without limits, raising the amount of money in circulation. With more money chasing goods, prices could rise and debts would become easier to repay, which farmers and other debtors favored in the late 1800s. The mechanism this movement championed is free coinage of silver—money created from silver coinage by the government.

This differs from a gold standard, which ties the money supply to gold and tends to restrict inflation; fiat currency, which is money declared legal tender by the government without metal backing; and even though some viewed it as tied to a broader bimetallic idea, the specific policy the Free Silver movement pressed for was the free coinage of silver.