"A True American System of Finance": Frame Resonance in the U.S. Labor Movement, 1866 to 1886

Principles and Philosophy (1) Revolutionary American rhetoric: The gold standard is associated with aristocracy, kings, landlords, privilege, inequality before the law, monied aristocracy 46 18.8 (2) Gold standard gives control of government to bankers/financiers/bondholders 21 8.6 (3) Democrats and Republicans are both corrupt 35 14.3 (4) Reference to Jefferson 4 1.6 (5) Reference to Jackson or locofocoism 5 2.0 (6) Gold standard leads to slavery: free labor 11 4.5 (7) Small ownership or middle class is good; wage labor is bad 7 2.9 (8) Growing polarization between rich and poor is bad 13 5.3 (9) (a) Strikes are bad-should be used as a last resort 11 4.5 (b) Strikes are good, necessary 0 0 (10) (a) We don't threaten property-only future accumulations (i.e., interest payments) 4 1.6 (b) We threaten property 0 0 Specific Program and Demands (11) Free soil: land to those willing to till it 21 8.6 (12) Support for co-ops 20 8.2 (13) Support for 8-hour movement 14 5.7 (14) We need a fairer tax system/don't exempt bondholders 27 11.0 Why Workingmen Should Support Greenbacks (15) Greenbacks won't hurt workers through inflation because wartime greenbacks (which depreciated) weren't real greenbacks 4 1.6 (16) Greenbacks will make co-ops possible 2 .8 (17) Greenbacks should be used to create employment through public works, government employment 3 1.2 (18) Greenbacks are good for workers because workers are debtors 2 .8