Author:
Ritter, Gretchen.
Imprint:Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Descriptionxii, 303 p. ; 24 cm.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Note:"Ritter (government, Univ. of Texas at Austin) reexamines the ideologies of the political debates over the US financial system from the end of the Civil War to the defeat of William Jennings Bryan in the election of 1896. By examining in detailed the relevant pamphlet literature, as well as contemporary newspapers and other publications, she presents the central arguments of what she calls the antimonopolists (farmer-labor parties) regarding economic and social reform. Her book is more successful in its descriptions and analysis of the nature of the antimonopolist arguments and their political impacts than in establishing what their achievement might have meant. This is an important study that raises significant questions about the role of the financial system in influencing political and economic change, explaining why these debates were significant in the past, as well as in the present. Goldbugs and Greenbacks is a major interpretation of the monetary debates of the late 19th century, and an important book for historians, economists, and political scientists concerned with developments in American society." -- Choice review
Note:Recommended as a Choice Outstanding Title
