美国白银运动的历史渊源及其久远影响

19世纪后半叶,随着自给自足农业经济向农业商品经济转变,为提高农产品价格,摆脱沉重的债务负担,美国农场主由硬币主义转向通货膨胀主义,由自由放任主义转向政府干预主义。他们与急于寻求白银市场的银生产者一道发起自由铸银运动,反对单一金本位制,迫使国会先后通过了《白兰德—艾利森法》和《谢尔曼购银法》,致使混乱的货币体系濒临崩溃。为维护币值稳定和企业投资信心,克里夫兰政府废除《谢尔曼购银法》,进一步将以农场主为主体的平民主义运动推向高潮,导致布赖恩民主党的崛起。布赖恩白银党在1896年大选中的失败,标志着自由银运动的衰落。但平民主义和白银党要求政府干预经济,直接发行货币,要求通货膨胀,减轻债务负担的精神却长期存在,影响深远。

The Historical Origins and Its Far-reaching Influence of the Free Silver Movement

In the late half of the 19th century, with self-sufficient agricultural economy turning to commodity economy, the farmers of the United States shifted from hard money advocators to inflationist, and from advocacy of laissez-faire to that of government interference, so as to increase the price of agricultural products and to relieve the heavy burden of debt. United with the silver producers who eager to seek market for their products, the farmers launched the free silver movement to oppose gold standard, and forced the Congress to enact in succession the Bland-Allison Act and the Sherman Act, and the chaotic monetary system was on the verge of disruption. In order to ensure steady money value and to safeguard the entrepreneurs' investment confidence, the government of Cleveland repealed the Sherman Act, and so furthermore pushed the farmers' Populist movement up to a climax, and brought about the rise of the Bryan's Democrats. The defeat of the silverities in the Presidential election of 1896 marked the fall of the free silver movement. But, the spirit of the Populist and the silverites remained, which advocated the interference of the federal government with economy, government-issued currency, inflation, and relief of burden of debt.