1. Populism and the Silver and Gold Standard Unit 4

2. Words to Know… Populist Party: a group in the 1890s who wanted a policy that would raise crop prices free silver: a policy in which there is unlimited mining of silver gold standard: a policy in which the government backs every dollar with a certain amount of gold

3. The Gold Standard before the Fed, the government used the gold standard to control money ▫ you could go to the bank and exchange $1 for a certain amount of gold

4. Formation of the Populist Party farmers were creating a large supply of food but demand was down ▫ prices dropped due to overproduction ▫ also spending more on trains and farm equipment

5. Formation of the Populist Party different farm groups created the Populist Party ▫ believed in free silver which would lead to inflation and raise prices again

6. Election of 1896 William Jennings Bryan ▫ free silver ▫ Democrat William McKinley ▫ gold standard ▫ Republican McKinley wins