In February 1878 Congress passed the Bland-Allison Act, which allowed for the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. Congress passed the act over President Rutherford B. Hayes’s veto. In 1873 Congress had suspended the minting of the silver dollar. Farmers wanted to increase the money supply by putting more silver into circulation. In response, the Bland-Allison Act, supported by "free silver" Democrats, was passed. It allowed the Treasury to mint between $2 and $4 million of silver each month. Financially strained citizens and western silver miners supported the Free Silver Movement. Eastern bankers, who owned most of the nation’s gold, opposed the act. They were concerned that increasing the circulation of other forms of currency, such as greenbacks and silver coins, would decrease the value of gold. However, the act did not significantly influence the price of gold. The conflict between those who wanted to keep the gold standard and those who wanted cheap money continued for years.
