The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary monetary policy) and bimetallism. The main Republican Party opposed free silver and supported the gold standard. Silver Republican strength was concentrated in the Western states where silver mining was an important industry. A leading spokesman in the House of Representatives was Willis Sweet of Idaho. Silver Republicans were elected to the Congress from several Western states. In both the

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

presidential elections, Silver Republicans supported Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan over Republican nominee

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. In 1901, the Silver Republican Party disbanded and most of its members rejoined the Republican Party, particularly after

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

became president in September 1901. However, some Silver Republicans, such as Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho and former Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller of Colorado, joined the Democratic Party instead in order to aid the Bryan wing of the party against the conservative

Bourbon Democrats Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with fiscal conservatism or classical liberalism, especially those who supp ...

Noted Silver Republicans

* Jonathan Bourne Jr. – Senator from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Frank J. Cannon Frank Jenne Cannon (January 25, 1859July 25, 1933) was the first United States Senator from Utah, who served from 1896 to 1899. Early life Born in Salt Lake City, Cannon was the eldest child of Sarah Jenne Cannon and George Q. Cannon. His fathe ...

– Senator from Utah * Fred Dubois – Senator from Idaho * Lee Mantle – Senator from Montana * Richard F. Pettigrew – Senator from South Dakota * John F. Shafroth – Representative from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, later Governor and Senator * Willis Sweet – Representative from Idaho * William Morris Stewart – Senator from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

* Henry M. Teller – Senator and Secretary of the Interior from

* Edgar Wilson – Representative from Idaho * Charles A. Towne – Senator from Minnesota

* Clinch, Thomas A. ''Urban Populism and Free Silver in Montana: A Narrative of Ideology in Political Action'' (University of Montana Press, 1970). * Ellis, Elmer. "The Silver Republicans in the Election of 1896." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 18.4 (1932): 519-534
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* Johnson, Claudius O. "The Story of Silver Politics in Idaho, 1892-1902." ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' (1942): 283-296
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* Wellborn, Fred. "The Influence of the Silver-Republican Senators, 1889-1891." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 14.4 (1928): 462-480.
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* Williams, Robert Earl. "The Silver Republican Movement in Montana." (Master's thesis, Montana State University, 1965)
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* Young, Bradley J. "Silver, discontent, and conspiracy: The ideology of the Western Republican revolt of 1890-1901." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 64.2 (1995): 243-65.
online
{{United States political parties Defunct political parties in the United States Silver Progressive Era in the United States Metallism Political parties established in 1896 1896 establishments in the United States Political parties disestablished in 1900 1900 disestablishments in the United States Political parties in the United States

Noted Silver Republicans

See also

Further reading