The Silver Party was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
active from 1892 until 1911 and most successful in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
which supported a platform of
bimetallism
Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed Exchange rate, rate of ...
and
free silver.
In 1892, several Silver Party candidates were elected to Nevada public offices. The party's success continued throughout the decade, culminating in the election of
Governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
John E. Jones and
Reinhold Sadler. Nevada was the only state to elect both Senators and Congressional representatives from the Silver Party.
Nationally, the Silver Party aligned with the
Populist Party and to a lesser extent with the
Silver Republican Party
The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary monet ...
. However, the 1896
Democratic Party presidential nomination of free silver advocate
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...
moved many Silver Party members towards the Democrats. By 1902, most pro-silver factions in Nevada had been absorbed by the
state Democratic Party organization.
Notable members
*
William M. Stewart – Senator from Nevada
*
John P. Jones – Senator from Nevada
*
John E. Jones – Governor of Nevada (1895–1896)
*
Reinhold Sadler – Lieutenant Governor of Nevada (1895–1896) and Governor of Nevada (1896–1903)
*
John Sparks – Governor of Nevada (1903–1908)
*
Denver S. Dickerson – Lieutenant Governor of Nevada (1907–1908) and Governor of Nevada (1908–1911)
*
John Gregovich – member of the
Nevada Senate
The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...
(1894–1898)
*
James Yancy Callahan – congressional delegate from the Oklahoma Territory
See also
*
Silver Republican Party
The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary monet ...
*
Silver-Democrats
References
; Specific
; General
Political History of Nevada
{{United States political parties
Regional and state political parties in the United States
Defunct political parties in the United States
Political parties established in 1892
Silver
Progressive Era in the United States