| has gloss | eng: Free Silver was an important political issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century United States. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy by "free coinage of silver"; its supporters were called silverites. It largely pitted the financial establishment of the Northeast, who were creditors and would be hurt by inflation, against the more rural areas of the country, who were debtors and would benefit from inflation: farmers in the Midwest, miners in the West, and Southerners still chafing against federal government control. |
