Bland-Allison Act
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The Bland-Allison Act of 1878 is a United States federal law enacted in response to the Fourth Coinage Act (called by opponents "the Crime of 1873") demonetizing silver. Representative Richard P. Bland of Missouri and Senator William B. Allison of Iowa co-authored a bill that would re-allow the coinage of silver. It had the following provisions:
- The U.S. Treasury would purchase quantities of bullion valued between $2 million and $4 million per month.
- The silver would be purchased at market prices, not at a predetermined ratio tied to the value of gold.
- The silver would be used to make coins at ratio of 16:1 to gold. In other words, 16 ounces of silver would be equivalent to one ounce of gold, regardless of the metals' respective market values.
This compromise was part of a struggle between the silver and bimetal-standard groups and the gold standard forces who tried to repeal it altogether. Rutherford B. Hayes, who was influenced by industrial and banking interests, vetoed this act because he did not agree with the inflation that it would cause. Congress overrode the veto.
However, the Hayes administration blunted the impact of the law. The Treasury Department never actually bought more than the $2 million minimum amount and never circulated the silver dollars. The Bland-Allison Act was replaced in 1890 by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.
Gold remained the larger feature between both legislations. The term "limping bimetallism" has been used to describe this program.
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