Editing James B. Weaver (section)

==Switch to the Greenback Party==
[[File:Weaver 1878.png|thumb|Weaver as a candidate for Congress, 1878]]

After his defeats in 1875, Weaver grew disenchanted with the Republican party, not only because it had spurned him, but also because of the policy choices of the dominant Allison faction.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=68}} In May 1876, he traveled to Indianapolis to attend [[1876 Greenback National Convention|the national convention]] of the newly formed [[Greenback Party]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=68}} The new party had arisen, mostly in the West, as a response to [[Long Depression|the economic depression]] that followed the [[Panic of 1873]].{{sfn|Colbert|1978|p=26}} During the [[Civil war|Civil War]], Congress had authorized "[[Greenback (money)|greenbacks]]", a new form of [[fiat money]] that was redeemable not in gold but in government bonds.{{sfn|Unger|1964|pp=14–15}} The greenbacks had helped to finance the war when the government's gold supply did not keep pace with the expanding costs of maintaining the armies. When the crisis had passed, many in both parties, especially in the East, wanted to place the nation's currency on a [[gold standard]] as soon as possible.{{sfn|Unger|1964|pp=16–17}} The [[Specie Payment Resumption Act]], passed in 1875, ordered that greenbacks be gradually withdrawn and replaced with gold-backed currency beginning in 1879. At the same time, the depression had made it more expensive for debtors to pay debts they had contracted when currency was less valuable.{{sfn|Unger|1964|pp=228–233}} Beyond their support for a larger money supply, Greenbackers also favored an [[eight-hour work day]], safety regulations in factories, an end to [[child labor]], and the end of [[wage slavery]].{{sfn|Clancy|1958|pp=163–164}} As historian Herbert Clancy put it, they "anticipated by almost fifty years the progressive legislation of the first quarter of the twentieth century".{{sfn|Clancy|1958|pp=163–164}}

In the 1876 presidential campaign, the Republicans nominated [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] and the Democrats chose [[Samuel J. Tilden]]. Both candidates opposed the issuance of more greenbacks (candidates who favored the gold-backed currency were called "hard money" supporters, while the Greenbackers' policy of encouraging inflation was known as "soft money".){{sfn|Mitchell|2008|pp=65–66}} Weaver was impressed with the Greenbackers and their candidate, [[Peter Cooper]], but while he advocated some soft-money policies, he declined the Greenback nomination for Congress and remained a Republican; he campaigned for Hayes in the election that year.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=69}} In 1877, Weaver attended the Republican state convention and saw the state party adopt a soft-money platform that also favored Prohibition.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=70}} The gubernatorial nominee, however, was [[John H. Gear]], an opponent of Prohibition who had worked to defeat Weaver in his quest for the governorship two years earlier.{{sfn|Mitchell|2008|p=70}} After initially supporting Gear, Weaver joined the Greenback party in August.{{sfn|Colbert|1978|p=26}} He gave speeches on behalf of his new party, debated former allies across the state, and establishing himself as a prominent advocate for the Greenback cause.{{sfn|Haynes|1919|pp=95–98}}
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