History of the United States

by John Clark Ridpath

Remonetization of Silver.

7. During the year 1877 the public mind was greatly agitated concerning the Remonetization of Silver. By the first coinage regulations of the United States the standard unit of value was the silver dollar. From 1792 until 1873, the quantity of pure metal in this unit had never been changed, though the amount of alloy contained in the dollar was altered several times. In 1849 a gold dollar was added to the coinage, and from that time forth the standard unit of value existed in both metals. In 1873-74 a series of acts were adopted by Congress bearing upon the standard unit of value, whereby the legal-tender quality of silver was abolished, and the silver dollar omitted from the list of coins to be struck at the national mints.

8. In January, 1875, the Resumption Act was passed by Congress. It was declared that on the 1st of January, 1879, the Government should begin to redeem its outstanding legal-tender notes in coin. The question was now raised as to the meaning of the word "coin" in the act; and, for the first time, the attention of the people was aroused to the fact that the privilege of paying debts in silver had been taken away. A great agitation followed, and in 1878 a measure in Congress was passed over the President's veto, for the restoration of the legal-tender quality of the old silver dollar, and for the compulsory coinage of that unit at a rate of not less than two millions of dollars a month.

Yellow Fever Epidemic.

9. In the summer of 1878 several of the Gulf States were scourged with a Yellow Fever Epidemic. The disease made its appearance in New Orleans, and from thence was scattered among the towns along the Mississippi. A regular system of contributions was established in the Northern States, and men and treasure were poured out without stint to relieve the suffering South. After more than twenty thousand people had fallen victims to the plague, the frosts of October came and ended the pestilence.

10. By the Treaty of Washington (1871), it was agreed that the right of the United States in certain sea-fisheries in the neighborhood of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, hitherto claimed by Great Britain, should be acknowledged and maintained. The government of the United States agreed to relinquish the duties which had hitherto been charged on certain kinds of fish imported by British subjects into American harbors; and, in order to balance any discrepancy, it was further agreed that any total advantage to the United States might be compensated by a gross sum to be paid by the American government. This sum was fixed at five million dollars in November, 1877, and a year later the amount was paid to the British government.

Chinese Embassy.

11. The year 1878 witnessed the establishment of a resident Chinese Embassy at Washington. For twenty years the great treaty negotiated by Anson Burlingame had been in force between the United States and China. The commercial relations of the two countries had been vastly extended. On the 28th of September the embassy chosen by the imperial government was received by the President. The ceremonies of the occasion were among the most interesting ever witnessed in Washington. The speech of Chen Lan Pin, the minister, was equal in dignity and appropriateness to the best efforts of a European diplomatist.

Life Saving Service.

12. In June, 1878, the Life Saving Service of the United States was established by act of Congress. The plan proposed the establishment of regular stations and lighthouses on all the exposed parts of the Atlantic coast and along the Great Lakes. Each station was to be manned by a band of surfmen experienced in the dangers peculiar to the shore in times of storms, and drilled in the best methods of rescue and resuscitation. Boats and other appliances of the most approved pattern were provided and equipped. The success of the enterprise has been so great as to reflect the highest credit on its promoters. The number of lives saved through the agency of the service reaches to thousands annually, and the amount of human suffering and distress alleviated by this beneficent movement is beyond computation.