Ohio idea
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
 |
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (February 2009) |
The Ohio idea was an idea by poor Midwesterners during the US presidential election of 1868 to redeem federal war bonds in United States dollars, also known as greenbacks, rather than gold. Agrarian Democrats hoped to keep more money in circulation to keep interest rates lower. In summary, wealthy eastern delegates demanded a plank promising that federal war bonds be redeemed in gold-even though many of the bonds had been purchased with badly depreciated paper greenbacks. Poorer Midwestern delegates answered with the "Ohio Idea," which called for redemption in greenbacks. Debt-burdened agrarian Democrats hoped to keep more money in circulation and keep interest rates lower. This dispute later showed a bitter fight over the money policy that would fight the Republic and cause disagreement until the century's end.(This is almost a quote from "The American Pageant - A History of the American People", 14th edition, Kennedy, Cohen, & Bailey, p.437)
The Democratic candidate in 1868, Horatio Seymour, blew the Democrats' hope for the Presidency by repudiating the Ohio Idea plank.
Ulysses S. Grant won, with 214 electoral votes to 80 for Seymour.
 |
This article related to the politics of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
