Perhaps the most famous speech of the 1896 presidential election, which pitted William Jennings Bryan against William McKinley, was Bryan’s thundering oration at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, when he declared that mankind would not be crucified on a cross of gold. This electrifying speech was the culmination of many years of debate over the role of silver and gold in the monetary system. It all began in the late 18th century.
American colonists used Spanish silver and gold coins for their business affairs, both before and after the Revolution. Thus, when the new federal government began operations in April 1789, it was only a matter of time before the Spanish dollar (8 reales) became the cornerstone of our monetary system. This came in April 1792, when the first Mint law was signed by President George Washington. Although the law established a bi-metallic system, meaning that gold and silver are of equal importance, the concept was virtually a dead letter by 1800. The 1792 law set the relationship between the two metals at 15 to 1, meaning that 15 ounces of silver was equivalent to one ounce of gold. The ratio of gold to silver changed on the world market but the content of our coins did not, and gold became undervalued. Gold coins soon migrated abroad, especially to Europe.
(The 15-to-1 ratio of silver to gold was based on the report made by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to Congress
