28.
What the Goldbugs are doing for Uncle Sam
Source:
Kansas Populist (Cherryvale, KS), September 27, 1895
In
January, 1894, the Cleveland Administration floated the first of several bond
issues designed to bolster American gold reserves. Because Cleveland's purpose was to raise foreign gold, the
bonds were issued in large denominations and sold secretly through the J.P.
Morgan banking firm primarily to foreign investors.
Populists viewed this as favoritism to foreign speculators.
Since 1790, U.S. Bonds have been one of the safest investments in
history, something speculators would favor during a depression.
Populists
noted that bonds, like greenbacks, were backed only by faith in the credit of
the federal government. If
financial instruments that were not backed by metal were to be issued by the
government, Populists claimed that they should be for the benefit of the common
people. Specifically they should be
non-interest bearing bonds (greenbacks) issued openly in small enough
denominations for average citizens to use in their day to day business
transactions. Secretary of Treasury
John Carlisle, Republican financial leader John Sherman, and Grover Cleveland
are pictured as selling Uncle Sam to British financial interests in this
cartoon.
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