Goldbugs and Greenbacks

In the late nineteenth century there was a popular and heated debate over what sort of financial system America should have. Behind the discussions over gold versus silver and state versus national banks was a broader dialogue about sectionalism class relations and the future course of the American economy and democracy. Professor Ritter contends that there was a distinctive and neglected political tradition in the United States--the antimonopoly tradition--which was championed by nearly every major agricultural and labor group during the period from the Civil War until 1900.