origen01 (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

Extreme and unpredictable fluctuations in money supply would be common in a commodity backed currency system that does not rely on a central bank.With the Federal Reserve, deflation during the Great Depression was severe, but it was corrected after only 3 yrs in conjunction with expansionary fiscal policy (compared to the 23 yrs of the late 19th century)

runleonrun (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

Yes, I suppose you are right.

origen01 (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

yeah, but there was no need to have the greenbacks redeemable for gold--it was true fiat. problems only occurred when the US went go on the gold standard--which was a response to trends in international trade. deflationary crises were directly linked with drops in gold commodity prices (consider the massive increase in demand for gold & the 30yr rut between the major gold booms of the 19th century). deflationary pressures were immediately felt worldwide so u can't blame it all on the greenback

runleonrun (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

I just told you. Greenbacks were issued during the Civil War, and their quantity became greater than that which could be backed by gold. There was too much paper money to be backed by all of the gold in the country.

origen01 (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

why was there a lack of gold to back the greenbacks in circulation?

runleonrun (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

So why is secession wrong? The 13 colonies seceded from Great Britain.And there were many causes of the Long Depression...greenbacks that were issued during the "Civil" War, overbuilding of rairoads, lack of gold to back said greenbacks...

origen01 (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

You totally misread my statement. Fighting to preserve the Union is a reaction to secession. Why did the southern states secede? Because Lincoln won the 1860 election. Yeah, I was exaggerating when I said he was a "prominent" abolitionist, but he did always oppose the expansion of slavery into the new territories which was the central grievance southerners had with Republicans.Oh yea, and wut caused the Long Depression of the late 19th century?

runleonrun (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

You haven't read much about Lincoln, have you? He said himself that he was fighting to preserve the Union, and he would do it whether he had to keep slavery or not. If the war was about slavery then why didn't Lincoln issue his "Emancipation Proclamation" at the beginning of the war? Why did he wait until 1863? You claim he was a "prominent abolitionist"...did you know he though blacks were unequal to whites? He wanted to send the blacks back to Africa! Don't believe me? Look it up.

origen01 (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

the election of Abe Lincoln directly caused the southern states to succeed. he was a prominent abolitionist and signified the death knoll for slavery in America. Officially, the North was fighting to preserve the union, but the war started because of slavery.

origen01 (December 31, 1969 at 5:59 pm)

What caused the Long Depression of 1873-1896? It was the longest depression in US history...