The Coinage Act of 1873 declared that US dollar coins struck from silver
bullion were no longer considered legal tender, thus placing the nation
firmly on the gold standard and ending bimetallism. In 1869, silver was
expensive, and not much of it was being presented at the Mint to be
struck into coins, but Deputy Comptroller of the Currency John Jay Knox
and others foresaw that cheaper ore from the Comstock Lode and elsewhere
would soon became available. To replace the outdated Mint Act of 1837,
Knox drafted a bill that took nearly three years to pass. It was rarely
mentioned during Congressional debates that the bill would end
bimetallism, though this was not concealed. The bill was finally signed
into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. When silver prices dropped in
1876, producers sought to have their bullion struck at the Mint, only to
learn that this was no longer possible. The resulting political
controversy lasted the remainder of the century, pitting those who
valued the deflationary gold standard against those who called the Act
the "Crime of '73", believing the free coinage of silver to be necessary
for economic prosperity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_Act_of_1873>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1838:
More than 25 Australian Aborigines were massacred near
Inverell, New South Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myall_Creek_massacre>
1871:
Nine days after Korean shore batteries attacked two American
warships, an American punitive expedition landed and captured several
forts on Ganghwa Island.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_expedition_to_Korea>
1918:
First World War: Italian torpedo boats sank the Austro-
Hungarian dreadnought SMS Szent István off the Dalmatian coast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Szent_Istv%C3%A1n>
1925:
The United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant
church, held its inaugural service in Toronto's Mutual Street Arena.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Church_of_Canada>
1991:
Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in South Lake
Tahoe, California; she remained a captive until 2009.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Jaycee_Dugard>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
corpus:
1. (uncommon) A body.
2. (linguistics) A collection of writings, often on a specific topic, of a
specific genre, from a specific demographic or a particular author, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corpus>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
He who inflicts a vile and unjust harm by using the power and the
force with which he is invested, does not conquer; the true victory is
to have on one's side Right naked and entire.
--Luís de Camões
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_de_Cam%C3%B5es>