The Seattle Silver Rebellion
A convention of delegates from the South and West met in Seattle to demand that the federal government restore silver to its rightful place alongside gold, signaling a growing populist resistance against Wall Street's control of the nation's currency.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Silver Convention, made up of delegates from several states and territories of all political opinions, adopted a resolution of principle: We are in favor of the coinage of silver as embodied in the United States Constitution. We demand the free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver bullion as the permanent standard of coinage. We demand that Congress act directing the Secretary of the Treasury to withdraw from circulation the one and two dollar bills and to replace them with silver certificates. Resolved, that it is the sense of this convention that a law amendatory of the bank act be enacted, whereby national banks throughout the United States shall keep not less than 15 per cent in legal reserves of national bank notes and also that the redemption fund of said banks shall be kept in silver until Congress shall restore silver to its rightful and equal parity with gold. We demand the immediate and faithful execution of the Bland bill. Resolved, that the Silver Convention, composed of delegates of several states and territories, of all political opinions, unanimously and earnestly requests that President-elect Cleveland do not appoint any man for Secretary of the Treasury who will not be in the interest of the South and West, but will recognize the great needs of the South and West in the economic policy of the administration, and will strive to promote the interests of the whole people, in lieu of consolidating the wishes of the men of Wall Street.
“We demand... that President-elect Cleveland do not appoint any man for Secretary of the Treasury who will... [not] strive to promote the interests of the whole people, in lieu of consolidating the wishes of the men of Wall Street.”
This 1885 gathering reflects the same deep-seated Pacific Northwest resentment toward East Coast financial hegemony that characterizes modern debates over Seattle’s economic independence. Just as these delegates fought for silver to protect Western industry, modern residents grapple with how global capital and remote corporate interests dictate the affordability of life in the region.
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