Bland-Allison Act

United States [1878]

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June 22, 2026

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The Bland-Allison Act was a United States law enacted in 1878. It was a response to the Free Silver Movement, which advocated for the unlimited coinage of silver. The act restored the silver dollar as legal tender and required the U.S. Treasury to purchase a specific amount of silver each month and coin it into dollars. This legislation was supported by silver mine owners, farmers who believed it would increase crop prices, and debtors seeking easier repayment methods. The act was a significant, albeit temporary, success for the Free Silver Movement, aiming to expand the currency and provide economic relief.12

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United States
The Rutherford B. Hayes administration
…over the president’s veto, the Bland–Allison Act, which renewed the coinage of silver dollars and, more significantly, included a mandate to the secretary of the treasury to purchase silver bullion at the market price in amounts of not less than $2,000,000 and not more than $4,000,000 each month.
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…over the president’s veto, the Bland–Allison Act, which renewed the coinage of silver dollars and, more significantly, included a mandate to the secretary of the treasury to purchase silver bullion at the market price in amounts of not less than $2,000,000 and not more than $4,000,000 each month.
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Free Silver Movement
…was the enactment of the Bland-Allison Act in 1878, which restored the silver dollar as legal tender and required the U.S. Treasury to purchase each month between $2,000,000 and $4,000,000 worth of silver and coin it into dollars. When farm prices improved in the early 1880s, pressure for new monetary…
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…was the enactment of the Bland-Allison Act in 1878, which restored the silver dollar as legal tender and required the U.S. Treasury to purchase each month between $2,000,000 and $4,000,000 worth of silver and coin it into dollars. When farm prices improved in the early 1880s, pressure for new monetary…
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William B. Allison
…from Iowa, cosponsor of the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which expanded U.S. Treasury purchase of silver bullion and restored the silver dollar as legal tender.
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…from Iowa, cosponsor of the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which expanded U.S. Treasury purchase of silver bullion and restored the silver dollar as legal tender.
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