Silver Republicians

No, I never heard of them. They seem to have represented western mining interests. My grandfather was an admirer of McKinley.

 

Yes, they were a breakaway faction of the Republicans, mostly from western states that wanted to expand the money supply by using silver alongside gold. They favored silver because the west was full of silver mines and the expanded money could be used to pay off landowner debts at a cheaper rate than using gold.

Silver Republicans were a factor in the 1890's.

They could be said to be in favor of "printing more money", a term used frequently by detractors of the Federal Reserve.