Goldbugs and Greenbacks: The Antimonopoly Tradition and the Politics of Finance in America, 1865–1896

In the late-nineteenth century, there was a popular and heated debate over what sort of financial system America should have. Behind the discussions over gold versus silver and state versus national banks was a broader dialogue about sectionalism, class relations, and the future course of the American economy and democracy. Professor Ritter contends that there was a distinctive and neglected political tradition in the United States - the antimonopoly tradition - which was championed by nearly every major agricultural and labor group during the period from the Civil War until 1900. The book explains why the antimonopolists (including the National Labor Union, the Greenbackers, the Knights of Labor, and the Populists) saw the financial system as the key to maintaining economic opportunity and democratic control for all classes and regions.

Gretchen Ritter is Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin.