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Comparison Of The 'The Crime Of' 73, 1873

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The Crime of ‘73, 1873
Comparison

In 1873, a law was passed to discontinue the silver coinage, which Congress thought would put an end to the money question. (The question as to what precious metal would back the dollar.) The law didn’t receive much objection at the time, because silver was worth more on the market than coined. However, later in the 1870’s the market price plummeted. The citizens then decided that the law was a conspiracy to lower the price of silver, and called it “the Crime of ‘73”
This event holds a large amount of significance. Economically, the value of silver plummeted, and there was now an excess of cheap silver. Politically, it rekindled the argument of what should back the US dollar. Socially, it increased distrust
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