document_title: Gold standard

question_text: when was america taken off the gold standard

question_tokens: when was america taken off the gold standard

root

text: Gold standard

text: History

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: Origin

text: The gold specie standard arose from the widespread acceptance of gold as currency.[5] Various commodities have been used as money; typically, the one that loses the least value over time becomes the accepted form.[6] The use of gold as money began thousands of years ago in Asia Minor.[7]

tag: p

text: During the early and high Middle Ages, the Byzantine gold solidus, commonly known as the bezant, was used widely throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. However, as the Byzantine Empire's economic influence declined, so too did the use of the bezant.[8] In its place, European territories chose silver as their currency over gold, leading to the development of silver standards.

text: Silver pennies based on the Roman denarius became the staple coin of Mercia in Great Britain around the time of King Offa, circa CE 757–796.[9] Similar coins, including Italian denari, French deniers, and Spanish dineros circulated in Europe. Spanish explorers discovered silver deposits in Mexico in 1522 and at Potosí in Bolivia in 1545.[10] International trade came to depend on coins such as the Spanish dollar, the Maria Theresa thaler, and later, the United States trade dollar.

text: In modern times, the British West Indies was one of the first regions to adopt a gold specie standard. Following Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704, the British West Indies gold standard was a de facto gold standard based on the Spanish gold doubloon. In 1717, Sir Isaac Newton, the master of the Royal Mint, established a new mint ratio between silver and gold that had the effect of driving silver out of circulation and putting Britain on a gold standard.[11]

text: A formal gold specie standard was first established in 1821, when Britain adopted it following the introduction of the gold sovereign by the new Royal Mint at Tower Hill in 1816. The United Province of Canada in 1853, Newfoundland in 1865, and the United States and Germany (de jure) in 1873 adopted gold. The United States used the eagle as its unit, Germany introduced the new gold mark, while Canada adopted a dual system based on both the American gold eagle and the British gold sovereign.

text: Australia and New Zealand adopted the British gold standard, as did the British West Indies, while Newfoundland was the only British Empire territory to introduce its own gold coin. Royal Mint branches were established in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth for the purpose of minting gold sovereigns from Australia's rich gold deposits.

text: The gold specie standard came to an end in the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire with the outbreak of World War I.

text: Silver

text: From 1750 to 1870, wars within Europe as well as an ongoing trade deficit with China (which sold to Europe but had little use for European goods) drained silver from the economies of Western Europe and the United States. Coins were struck in smaller and smaller numbers, and there was a proliferation of bank and stock notes used as money.

text: United Kingdom

text: In the 1790s, the United Kingdom suffered a silver shortage. It ceased to mint larger silver coins and instead issued "token" silver coins and overstruck foreign coins. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Bank of England began the massive recoinage programme that created standard gold sovereigns, circulating crowns, half-crowns and eventually copper farthings in 1821. The recoinage of silver after a long drought produced a burst of coins. The United Kingdom struck nearly 40 million shillings between 1816 and 1820, 17 million half crowns and 1.3 million silver crowns.

text: The 1819 Act for the Resumption of Cash Payments set 1823 as the date for resumption of convertibility, which was reached by 1821. Throughout the 1820s, small notes were issued by regional banks. This was restricted in 1826, while the Bank of England was allowed to set up regional branches. In 1833 however, Bank of England notes were made legal tender and redemption by other banks was discouraged. In 1844, the Bank Charter Act established that Bank of England notes were fully backed by gold and they became the legal standard. According to the strict interpretation of the gold standard, this 1844 act marked the establishment of a full gold standard for British money.

text: United States

text: In the 1780s, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Morris and Alexander Hamilton recommended to Congress the value of a decimal system. This system would also apply to monies in the United States. The question was what type of standard: gold, silver or both.[12] The United States adopted a silver standard based on the Spanish milled dollar in 1785.

text: International

text: From 1860 to 1871 various attempts to resurrect bi-metallic standards were made, including one based on the gold and silver franc; however, with the rapid influx of silver from new deposits, the expectation of scarce silver ended.

text: The interaction between central banking and currency basis formed the primary source of monetary instability during this period. The combination of a restricted supply of notes, a government monopoly on note issuance and indirectly, a central bank and a single unit of value produced economic stability. Deviation from these conditions produced monetary crises.

text: Devalued notes or leaving silver as a store of value caused economic problems. Governments, demanding specie as payment, could drain the money out of the economy. Economic development expanded need for credit. The need for a solid basis in monetary affairs produced a rapid acceptance of the gold standard in the period that followed.

text: Japan

text: Following Germany's decision after the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War to extract reparations to facilitate a move to the gold standard, Japan gained the needed reserves after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. For Japan, moving to gold was considered vital for gaining access to Western capital markets.[13]

text: Bimetallic standard

text: US: Pre-Civil War

text: In 1792, Congress passed the Mint and Coinage Act. It authorized the federal government's use of the Bank of the United States to hold its reserves, as well as establish a fixed ratio of gold to the U.S. dollar. Gold and silver coins were legal tender, as was the Spanish real. In 1792 the market price of gold was about 15 times that of silver.[12] Silver coins left circulation, exported to pay for the debts taken on to finance the American Revolutionary War. In 1806 President Jefferson suspended the minting of silver coins. This resulted in a derivative silver standard, since the Bank of the United States was not required to fully back its currency with reserves. This began a long series of attempts by the United States to create a bi-metallic standard.

text: The intention was to use gold for large denominations, and silver for smaller denominations. A problem with bimetallic standards was that the metals' absolute and relative market prices changed. The mint ratio (the rate at which the mint was obligated to pay/receive for gold relative to silver) remained fixed at 15 ounces of silver to 1 ounce of gold, whereas the market rate fluctuated from 15.5 to 1 to 16 to 1. With the Coinage Act of 1834, Congress passed an act that changed the mint ratio to approximately 16 to 1. Gold discoveries in California in 1848 and later in Australia lowered the gold price relative to silver; this drove silver money from circulation because it was worth more in the market than as money.[14] Passage of the Independent Treasury Act of 1848 placed the U.S. on a strict hard-money standard. Doing business with the American government required gold or silver coins.

text: Government accounts were legally separated from the banking system. However, the mint ratio (the fixed exchange rate between gold and silver at the mint) continued to overvalue gold. In 1853, the US reduced the silver weight of coins to keep them in circulation and in 1857 removed legal tender status from foreign coinage. In 1857 the final crisis of the free banking era began as American banks suspended payment in silver, with ripples through the developing international financial system. Due to the inflationary finance measures undertaken to help pay for the US Civil War, the government found it difficult to pay its obligations in gold or silver and suspended payments of obligations not legally specified in specie (gold bonds); this led banks to suspend the conversion of bank liabilities (bank notes and deposits) into specie. In 1862 paper money was made legal tender. It was a fiat money (not convertible on demand at a fixed rate into specie). These notes came to be called "greenbacks".[14]

text: US: Post-Civil War

text: After the Civil War, Congress wanted to reestablish the metallic standard at pre-war rates. The market price of gold in greenbacks was above the pre-War fixed price ($20.67 per ounce of gold) requiring deflation to achieve the pre-War price. This was accomplished by growing the stock of money less rapidly than real output. By 1879 the market price matched the mint price of gold. The coinage act of 1873 (also known as the Crime of ‘73) demonetized silver. This act removed the 412.5 grain silver dollar from circulation. Subsequently silver was only used in coins worth less than $1 (fractional currency). With the resumption of convertibility on June 30, 1879 the government again paid its debts in gold, accepted greenbacks for customs and redeemed greenbacks on demand in gold. Greenbacks were therefore perfect substitutes for gold coins. During the latter part of the nineteenth century the use of silver and a return to the bimetallic standard were recurrent political issues, raised especially by William Jennings Bryan, the People's Party and the Free Silver movement . In 1900 the gold dollar was declared the standard unit of account and a gold reserve for government issued paper notes was established. Greenbacks, silver certificates, and silver dollars continued to be legal tender, all redeemable in gold.[14]

text: Fluctuations in the US gold stock, 1862–1877

text:
US gold stock

1862
59 tons

1866
81 tons

1875
50 tons

1878
78 tons

text: The US had a gold stock of 1.9 million ounces (59 t) in 1862. Stocks rose to 2.6 million ounces (81 t) in 1866, declined in 1875 to 1.6 million ounces (50 t) and rose to 2.5 million ounces (78 t) in 1878. Net exports did not mirror that pattern. In the decade before the Civil War net exports were roughly constant; postwar they varied erratically around pre-war levels, but fell significantly in 1877 and became negative in 1878 and 1879. The net import of gold meant that the foreign demand for American currency to purchase goods, services, and investments exceeded the corresponding American demands for foreign currencies. In the final years of the greenback period (1862–1879), gold production increased while gold exports decreased. The decrease in gold exports was considered by some to be a result of changing monetary conditions. The demands for gold during this period were as a speculative vehicle, and for its primary use in the foreign exchange markets financing international trade. The major effect of the increase in gold demand by the public and Treasury was to reduce exports of gold and increase the Greenback price of gold relative to purchasing power.[15]

text: Gold exchange standard

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Towards the end of the 19th century, some silver standard countries began to peg their silver coin units to the gold standards of the United Kingdom or the United States. In 1898, British India pegged the silver rupee to the pound sterling at a fixed rate of 1s 4d, while in 1906, the Straits Settlements adopted a gold exchange standard against sterling, fixing the silver Straits dollar at 2s 4d.

text: Around the start of the 20th century, the Philippines pegged the silver peso/dollar to the U.S. dollar at 50 cents. This move was assisted by the passage of the Philippines Coinage Act by the United States Congress on March 3, 1903.[16] Around the same time Mexico and Japan pegged their currencies to the dollar. When Siam adopted a gold exchange standard in 1908, only China and Hong Kong remained on the silver standard.

text: When adopting the gold standard, many European nations changed the name of their currency, for instance from Daler (Sweden and Denmark) or Gulden (Austria-Hungary) to Crown, since the former names were traditionally associated with silver coins and the latter with gold coins.

text: Impact of World War I

text: Governments with insufficient tax revenue suspended convertibility repeatedly in the 19th century. The real test, however, came in the form of World War I, a test which "it failed utterly" according to economist Richard Lipsey.[5]

text: By the end of 1913, the classical gold standard was at its peak but World War I caused many countries to suspend or abandon it.[17] According to Lawrence Officer the main cause of the gold standard’s failure to resume its previous position after World War 1 was “the Bank of England's precarious liquidity position and the gold-exchange standard.” A run on sterling caused Britain to impose exchange controls that fatally weakened the standard; convertibility was not legally suspended, but gold prices no longer played the role that they did before.[18] In financing the war and abandoning gold, many of the belligerents suffered drastic inflations. Price levels doubled in the US and Britain, tripled in France and quadrupled in Italy. Exchange rates changed less, even though European inflations were more severe than America’s. This meant that the costs of American goods decreased relative to those in Europe. Between August 1914 and spring of 1915, the dollar value of US exports tripled and its trade surplus exceeded $1 billion for the first time.[19]

text: Ultimately, the system could not deal quickly enough with the large balance of payments deficits and surpluses; this was previously attributed to downward wage rigidity brought about by the advent of unionized labor, but is now considered as an inherent fault of the system that arose under the pressures of war and rapid technological change. In any case, prices had not reached equilibrium by the time of the Great Depression, which served to kill off the system completely.[5]

text: For example, Germany had gone off the gold standard in 1914, and could not effectively return to it because War reparations had cost it much of its gold reserves. During the Occupation of the Ruhr the German central bank (Reichsbank) issued enormous sums of non-convertible marks to support workers who were on strike against the French occupation and to buy foreign currency for reparations; this led to the German hyperinflation of the early 1920s and the decimation of the German middle class.

text: The US did not suspend the gold standard during the war. The newly created Federal Reserve intervened in currency markets and sold bonds to “sterilize”[vague] some of the gold imports that would have otherwise increased the stock of money.[citation needed] By 1927 many countries had returned to the gold standard.[14] As a result of World War 1 the United States, which had been a net debtor country, had become a net creditor by 1919.[20]

text: Gold bullion replaces gold specie as standard

text: The gold specie standard ended in the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire at the outbreak of World War I, when Treasury notes replaced the circulation of gold sovereigns and gold half sovereigns. Legally, the gold specie standard was not repealed. The end of the gold standard was successfully effected by the Bank of England through appeals to patriotism urging citizens not to redeem paper money for gold specie. It was only in 1925, when Britain returned to the gold standard in conjunction with Australia and South Africa that the gold specie standard was officially ended.

text: The British Gold Standard Act 1925 both introduced the gold bullion standard and simultaneously repealed the gold specie standard. The new standard ended the circulation of gold specie coins. Instead, the law compelled the authorities to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price, but "only in the form of bars containing approximately four hundred ounces troy [12 kg] of fine gold".[21][22] John Maynard Keynes, citing deflationary dangers, argued against resumption of the gold standard.[23]

text: Many other countries followed Britain in returning to the gold standard, this was followed by a period of relative stability but also deflation.[24] This state of affairs lasted until the Great Depression (1929–1939) forced countries off the gold standard. In September 19, 1931, speculative attacks on the pound forced Britain to abandon the gold standard. Loans from American and French Central Banks of £50,000,000 were insufficient and exhausted in a matter of weeks, due to large gold outflows across the Atlantic.[25][26][27] The British benefited from this departure. They could now use monetary policy to stimulate the economy. Australia and New Zealand had already left the standard and Canada quickly followed suit.

text: The interwar partially backed gold standard was inherently unstable, because of the conflict between the expansion of liabilities to foreign central banks and the resulting deterioration in the Bank of England's reserve ratio. France was then attempting to make Paris a world class financial center, and it received large gold flows as well.[28]

text: In May 1931 a run on Austria's largest commercial bank caused it to fail. The run spread to Germany, where the central bank also collapsed. International financial assistance was too late and in July 1931 Germany adopted exchange controls, followed by Austria in October. The Austrian and German experiences, as well as British budgetary and political difficulties, were among the factors that destroyed confidence in sterling, which occurred in mid-July 1931. Runs ensued and the Bank of England lost much of its reserves.

text: Depression and World War II

text: Great Depression

text: Some economic historians, such as Barry Eichengreen, blame the gold standard of the 1920s for prolonging the economic depression which started in 1929 and lasted for about a decade.[30] In the United States, adherence to the gold standard prevented the Federal Reserve from expanding the money supply to stimulate the economy, fund insolvent banks and fund government deficits that could "prime the pump" for an expansion. Once off the gold standard, it became free to engage in such money creation. The gold standard limited the flexibility of the central banks' monetary policy by limiting their ability to expand the money supply. In the US, the central bank was required by the Federal Reserve Act (1913) to have gold backing 40% of its demand notes.[31] Others including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Nobel Prize-winner Milton Friedman place the blame for the severity and length of the Great Depression at the feet of the Federal Reserve, mostly due to the deliberate tightening of monetary policy even after the gold standard.[32] They blamed the US major economic contraction in 1937 on tightening of monetary policy resulting in higher cost of capital, weaker securities markets, reduced net government contribution to income, the undistributed profits tax and higher labor costs.[33] The money supply peaked in March 1937, with a trough in May 1938.[34]

text: Higher interest rates intensified the deflationary pressure on the dollar and reduced investment in U.S. banks. Commercial banks converted Federal Reserve Notes to gold in 1931, reducing its gold reserves and forcing a corresponding reduction in the amount of currency in circulation. This speculative attack created a panic in the U.S. banking system. Fearing imminent devaluation many depositors withdrew funds from U.S. banks.[35] As bank runs grew, a reverse multiplier effect caused a contraction in the money supply.[36] Additionally the New York Fed had loaned over $150 million in gold (over 240 tons) to European Central Banks. This transfer contracted the US money supply. The foreign loans became questionable once Britain, Germany, Austria and other European countries went off the gold standard in 1931 and weakened confidence in the dollar.[37]

text: The forced contraction of the money supply resulted in deflation. Even as nominal interest rates dropped, inflation-adjusted real interest rates remained high, rewarding those who held onto money instead of spending it, further slowing the economy.[38] Recovery in the United States was slower than in Britain, in part due to Congressional reluctance to abandon the gold standard and float the U.S. currency as Britain had done.[39]

text: In the early 1930s, the Federal Reserve defended the dollar by raising interest rates, trying to increase the demand for dollars. This helped attract international investors who bought foreign assets with gold.[35]

text: Congress passed the Gold Reserve Act on 30 January 1934; the measure nationalized all gold by ordering Federal Reserve banks to turn over their supply to the U.S. Treasury. In return the banks received gold certificates to be used as reserves against deposits and Federal Reserve notes. The act also authorized the president to devalue the gold dollar. Under this authority the president, on 31 January 1934, changed the value of the dollar from $20.67 to the troy ounce to $35 to the troy ounce, a devaluation of over 40%.

text: Other factors in the prolongation of the Great Depression include trade wars and the reduction in international trade caused by barriers such as Smoot–Hawley Tariff in the US and the Imperial Preference policies of Great Britain,[40] the failure of central banks to act responsibly,[41] government policies designed to prevent wages from falling, such as the Davis–Bacon Act of 1931, during the deflationary period resulting in production costs dropping slower than sales prices, thereby injuring business profits[42] and increases in taxes to reduce budget deficits and to support new programs such as Social Security. The US top marginal income tax rate went from 25% to 63% in 1932 and to 79% in 1936,[43] while the bottom rate increased over tenfold, from .375% in 1929 to 4% in 1932.[44] The concurrent massive drought resulted in the US Dust Bowl.

text: The Austrian School asserted that the Great Depression was the result of a credit bust.[45] Alan Greenspan wrote that the bank failures of the 1930s were sparked by Great Britain dropping the gold standard in 1931. This act "tore asunder" any remaining confidence in the banking system.[46] Financial historian Niall Ferguson wrote that what made the Great Depression truly 'great' was the European banking crisis of 1931.[47] According to Fed Chairman Marriner Eccles, the root cause was the concentration of wealth resulting in a stagnating or decreasing standard of living for the poor and middle class. These classes went into debt, producing the credit explosion of the 1920s. Eventually the debt load grew too heavy, resulting in the massive defaults and financial panics of the 1930s.[48]

text: World War II

text: Under the Bretton Woods international monetary agreement of 1944, the gold standard was kept without domestic convertibility. The role of gold was severely constrained, as other countries’ currencies were fixed in terms of the dollar. Many countries kept reserves in gold and settled accounts in gold. Still they preferred to settle balances with other currencies, with the American dollar becoming the favorite. The International Monetary Fund was established to help with the exchange process and assist nations in maintaining fixed rates. Within Bretton Woods adjustment was cushioned through credits that helped countries avoid deflation. Under the old standard, a country with an overvalued currency would lose gold and experience deflation until the currency was again valued correctly. Most countries defined their currencies in terms of dollars, but some countries imposed trading restrictions to protect reserves and exchange rates. Therefore, most countries' currencies were still basically inconvertible. In the late 1950s, the exchange restrictions were dropped and gold became an important element in international financial settlements.[14]

text: Bretton Woods

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: After the Second World War, a system similar to a gold standard and sometimes described as a "gold exchange standard" was established by the Bretton Woods Agreements. Under this system, many countries fixed their exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar and central banks could exchange dollar holdings into gold at the official exchange rate of $35 per ounce; this option was not available to firms or individuals. All currencies pegged to the dollar thereby had a fixed value in terms of gold.[5]

text: Starting in the 1959–1969 administration of President Charles de Gaulle and continuing until 1970, France reduced its dollar reserves, exchanging them for gold at the official exchange rate, reducing US economic influence. This, along with the fiscal strain of federal expenditures for the Vietnam War and persistent balance of payments deficits, led U.S. President Richard Nixon to end international convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold on August 15, 1971 (the "Nixon Shock").

text: This was meant to be a temporary measure, with the gold price of the dollar and the official rate of exchanges remaining constant. Revaluing currencies was the main purpose of this plan. No official revaluation or redemption occurred. The dollar subsequently floated. In December 1971, the “Smithsonian Agreement” was reached. In this agreement, the dollar was devalued from $35 per troy ounce of gold to $38. Other countries' currencies appreciated. However, gold convertibility did not resume. In October 1973, the price was raised to $42.22. Once again, the devaluation was insufficient. Within two weeks of the second devaluation the dollar was left to float. The $42.22 par value was made official in September 1973, long after it had been abandoned in practice. In October 1976, the government officially changed the definition of the dollar; references to gold were removed from statutes. From this point, the international monetary system was made of pure fiat money.

text: Production of gold

text: An estimated total of 174,100 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, according to GFMS as of 2012. This is roughly equivalent to 5.6 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 9,261 cubic metres (327,000 cu ft), or a cube 21 metres (69 ft) on a side. There are varying estimates of the total volume of gold mined. One reason for the variance is that gold has been mined for thousands of years. Another reason is that some nations are not particularly open about how much gold is being mined. In addition, it is difficult to account for the gold output in illegal mining activities.[49]

text: World production for 2011 was at 2,700 tonnes. Since the 1950s, annual gold output growth has approximately kept pace with world population growth of around 2x[clarification needed],[50] although far less than world economic growth of some 8x[clarification needed],[51] or some 4x[clarification needed] since 1980.[52]

text: Theory

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Commodity money is inconvenient to store and transport in large amounts. Furthermore, it does not allow a government to manipulate the flow of commerce with the same ease that a fiat currency does. As such, commodity money gave way to representative money and gold and other specie were retained as its backing.

text: Gold was a preferred form of money due to its rarity, durability, divisibility, fungibility and ease of identification,[53] often in conjunction with silver. Silver was typically the main circulating medium, with gold as the monetary reserve. Commodity money was anonymous, as identifying marks can be removed. Commodity money retains its value despite what may happen to the monetary authority. After the fall of South Vietnam, many refugees carried their wealth to the West in gold after the national currency became worthless.[citation needed]

text: Under commodity standards currency itself has no intrinsic value, but is accepted by traders because it can be redeemed any time for the equivalent specie. A US silver certificate, for example, could be redeemed for an actual piece of silver.

text: Representative money and the gold standard protect citizens from hyperinflation and other abuses of monetary policy, as were seen in some countries during the Great Depression. Commodity money conversely led to deflation and bank runs.

text: Countries that left the gold standard earlier than other countries recovered from the Great Depression sooner. For example, Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries, which left the gold standard in 1931, recovered much earlier than France and Belgium, which remained on gold much longer. Countries such as China, which had a silver standard, almost entirely avoided the depression (due to the fact it was then barely integrated into the global economy). The connection between leaving the gold standard and the severity and duration of the depression was consistent for dozens of countries, including developing countries. This may explain why the experience and length of the depression differed between national economies.[54]

text: Variations

text: A full or 100%-reserve gold standard exists when the monetary authority holds sufficient gold to convert all the circulating representative money into gold at the promised exchange rate. It is sometimes referred to as the gold specie standard to more easily distinguish it. Opponents of a full standard consider it difficult to implement, saying that the quantity of gold in the world is too small to sustain worldwide economic activity at or near current gold prices; implementation would entail a many-fold increase in the price of gold.[citation needed] Gold standard proponents have said, "Once a money is established, any stock of money becomes compatible with any amount of employment and real income."[55] While prices would necessarily adjust to the supply of gold, the process may involve considerable economic disruption, as was experienced during earlier attempts to maintain gold standards.[56]

text: In an international gold-standard system (which is necessarily based on an internal gold standard in the countries concerned),[57] gold or a currency that is convertible into gold at a fixed price is used to make international payments. Under such a system, when exchange rates rise above or fall below the fixed mint rate by more than the cost of shipping gold, inflows or outflows occur until rates return to the official level. International gold standards often limit which entities have the right to redeem currency for gold.

text: Advantages

text:
Long-term price stability has been described as one of the virtues of the gold standard.[58] The gold standard makes it difficult for governments to inflate prices through expanding the money supply. Under the gold standard, significant inflation is rare, and hyperinflation is essentially impossible because the money supply can only grow at the rate that the gold supply increases. High inflation under a gold standard is seen only when warfare destroys a large part of an economy, reducing the production of goods, or when a major new gold source becomes available.[59] In the U.S., inflation occurred during the Civil War, which destroyed the economy of the South.[60] Inflation also followed the California Gold Rush that made large amounts of gold available for minting.[61] Historical data shows that the magnitude of short run swings in prices were far higher under the gold standard.[62][58]
The gold standard provides fixed international exchange rates between participating countries and thus reduces uncertainty in international trade. Historically, imbalances between price levels were offset by a balance-of-payment adjustment mechanism called the "price–specie flow mechanism".[59] Gold used to pay for imports reduces the money supply of importing nations, causing deflation, which makes them more competitive, while the importation of gold by net exporters serves to increase their money supply, causing inflation, making them less competitive.[63]
A gold standard does not allow some types of financial repression.[64] Financial repression acts as a mechanism to transfer wealth from creditors to debtors, particularly the governments that practice it. Financial repression is most successful in reducing debt when accompanied by inflation and can be considered a form of taxation.[65][66] In 1966 Alan Greenspan wrote "Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard."[67]

tag: ul

text: Disadvantages

text:
The unequal distribution of gold deposits makes the gold standard more advantageous for those countries that produce gold.[68] In 2010 the largest producers of gold, in order, were China, Australia, U.S., South Africa and Russia.[69] The country with the largest unmined gold deposits is Australia.[70]
Some economists believe that the gold standard acts as a limit on economic growth. "As an economy's productive capacity grows, then so should its money supply. Because a gold standard requires that money be backed in the metal, then the scarcity of the metal constrains the ability of the economy to produce more capital and grow."[71]
Mainstream economists believe that economic recessions can be largely mitigated by increasing the money supply during economic downturns.[72] A gold standard means that the money supply would be determined by the gold supply and hence monetary policy could no longer be used to stabilize the economy.[73] The gold standard is often blamed for prolonging the Great Depression, as under the gold standard, central banks could not expand credit at a fast enough rate to offset deflationary forces.[74]
Although the gold standard brings long-run price stability, it is historically associated with high short-run price volatility.[58][75] It has been argued by Schwartz, among others, that instability in short-term price levels can lead to financial instability as lenders and borrowers become uncertain about the value of debt.[75]
Deflation punishes debtors.[76][77] Real debt burdens therefore rise, causing borrowers to cut spending to service their debts or to default. Lenders become wealthier, but may choose to save some of the additional wealth, reducing GDP.[78]
The money supply would essentially be determined by the rate of gold production. When gold stocks increase more rapidly than the economy, there is inflation and the reverse is also true.[58][79] The consensus view is that the gold standard contributed to the severity and length of the Great Depression.[80][81]
Hamilton contended that the gold standard is susceptible to speculative attacks when a government's financial position appears weak. Conversely, this threat discourages governments from engaging in risky policy (see moral hazard). For example, the U.S. was forced to contract the money supply and raise interest rates in September 1931 to defend the dollar after speculators forced the UK off the gold standard.[81][82][83][84]
Devaluing a currency under a gold standard would generally produce sharper changes than the smooth declines seen in fiat currencies, depending on the method of devaluation.[85]
Most economists favor a low, positive rate of inflation of around 2%. This reflects fear of deflationary shocks and the belief that active monetary policy can dampen fluctuations in output and unemployment. Inflation gives them room to tighten policy without inducing deflation.[86]
A gold standard provides practical constraints against the measures that central banks might otherwise use to respond to economic crises.[87] Creation of new money reduces interest rates and thereby increases demand for new lower cost debt, raising the demand for money.[88]

text: Gold standard and Bitcoin

text: According to research produced by the Bank of Canada, the emerging Bitcoin economy has many similarities with the economy based on gold standard, in particular:[89][90]

text:
limited and predictable supply of the anchor of the monetary system
no central bank or monetary authority controls the supply
low or non-existent inflation
virtually no arbitrage costs for international transactions
Governments have less control over their domestic economies
Governments lose seigniorage revenues that they obtain from the ability to almost costlessly create money

text: Edward Hadas and Michael Hiltzik noted that monetary systems based on Bitcoin and gold have some similar disadvantages:

text:
independence from government[91][92]
price declines[91]
less spending during crisis times[91]

text: George Gilder, a proponent of gold standard, proposed breaking "the government monopoly on money" by using a combination of Bitcoin for the internet and treating gold in tax terms as currency.[93][94]

text: Advocates

text: A return to the gold standard was considered by the US Gold Commission back in 1982, but found only minority support.[95] In 2001 Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad proposed a new currency that would be used initially for international trade among Muslim nations, using the Islamic gold dinar, defined as 4.25 grams of pure (24-carat) gold. Mahathir claimed it would be a stable unit of account and a political symbol of unity between Islamic nations. This would purportedly reduce dependence on the US dollar and establish a non-debt-backed currency in accord with Sharia law that prohibited the charging of interest.[96] As of 2013[update] the global monetary system continued to rely on the US dollar as the main reserve currency.[97]

text: Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan acknowledged he was one of "a small minority" within the central bank that had some positive view on the gold standard.[98] In a 1966 essay he contributed to a book by Ayn Rand, titled "Gold and Economic Freedom", Greenspan argued the case for returning to a 'pure' gold standard; in that essay he described supporters of fiat currencies as "welfare statists" intending to use monetary policy to finance deficit spending.[99] More recently he claimed that by focusing on targeting inflation "central bankers have behaved as though we were on the gold standard", rendering a return to the standard unnecessary.[100]

text: Similarly, economists like Robert Barro argued that whilst some form of "monetary constitution" is essential for stable, depoliticized monetary policy, the form this constitution takes—for example, a gold standard, some other commodity-based standard, or a fiat currency with fixed rules for determining the quantity of money—is considerably less important.[101]

text: The gold standard is supported by many followers of the Austrian School of Economics, free-market libertarians and some supply-siders.[102]

text: US politics

text: In the United States, strict constitutionalists object to the government issuing fiat currency through central banks. Some gold-standard advocates also call for a mandated end to fractional-reserve banking. Many similar alternatives have been suggested, including energy-based currencies, collections of currencies or commodities, with gold as one component.

text: Former congressman Ron Paul is a long-term, high-profile advocate of a gold standard, but has also expressed support for using a standard based on a basket of commodities that better reflects the state of the economy.[103]

text: In 2011 the Utah legislature passed a bill to accept federally issued gold and silver coins as legal tender to pay taxes.[104] As federally issued currency, the coins were already legal tender for taxes, although the market price of their metal content currently exceeds their monetary value. Similar legislation is under consideration in other US states.[105] The bill was initiated by newly elected Republican Party legislators associated with the Tea Party movement and was driven by anxiety over the policies of President Barack Obama.[106]

text: In 2013, the Arizona Legislature passed SB 1439, which would have made gold and silver coin a legal tender in payment of debt, but the bill was vetoed by the Governor.[107]

text: In 2015, some candidates for the 2016 presidential election advocated for a gold standard, based on concern that the Federal Reserve’s attempts to increase economic growth may create inflation. Economic historians did not agree with candidate's assertions that the gold standard would benefit the US economy.[108]

text: Critics

text: In 2012 a poll of 40 U.S. economists in the IGM Economic Experts Panel found that none of them agreed with a claim that a return to the gold standard would result in "price-stability and employment outcomes [that] would be better for the average American." The panel of polled economists included past Nobel Prize winners, former economic advisers to both Republican and Democratic presidents, and senior faculty from Harvard, Chicago, Stanford, MIT, and other well-known research universities. (The specific question posed to the economists was: "If the US replaced its discretionary monetary policy regime with a gold standard, defining a 'dollar' as a specific number of ounces of gold, the price-stability and employment outcomes would be better for the average American.") [3]

text: The economist Allan H. Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University presented arguments against Ron Paul's advocacy of the gold standard since the 1970s. He sometimes summarizes his opposition by stating simply, "[W]e don’t have the gold standard. It’s not because we don’t know about the gold standard, it’s because we do."[109]


document_title: Taps

question_text: who wrote the words to the song taps

question_tokens: who wrote the words to the song taps

text: Taps

text: Etymology[edit]

text: "Taps" is derived from the same source as "Tattoo".[2]

text: "Taps" originates from the Dutch taptoe, meaning "close the (beer) taps (and send the troops back to camp)".  An alternative explanation, however, is that it carried over from a term already in use before the American Civil War.  Three single, slow drum beats were struck after the sounding of the Tattoo or "Extinguish Lights".  This signal was known as the "Drum Taps", "The Taps", or simply as "Taps" in soldier's slang.[3][4]

text: History[edit]

text: The tune is a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the "Scott Tattoo", which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860,[5][6] and was arranged in its present form by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac while at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862 to replace a previous French bugle call used to signal "lights out". Butterfield's bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton,[7] of East Springfield, Pennsylvania,[8] was the first to sound the new call. Within months "Taps" was used by both Union and Confederate forces. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874.[9]

text: "Taps" concludes many military funerals conducted with honors at Arlington National Cemetery and elsewhere in the United States.[10] The tune is also sounded at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at grave sites throughout the cemetery.

text: Captain John Francis Tidball, West Point Class of 1848, started the custom of playing "Taps" at military funerals. In early July 1862 at Harrison's Landing, a corporal of Tidball's Battery A, 2nd U. S.. Artillery, died. He was, Tidball recalled later, "a most excellent man". Tidball wished to bury him with full military honors, but, for military reasons, he was refused permission to fire 7 rifles three times (21-shot salute) over the grave. Tidball later wrote, "The thought suggested itself to me to sound taps instead, which I did. The idea was taken up by others, until in a short time it was adopted by the entire army and is now looked upon as the most appropriate and touching part of a military funeral." As Tidball proudly proclaimed, "Battery A has the honor of having introduced this custom into the service, and it is worthy of historical note."[11]

text: It became a standard component to U.S. military funerals in 1891.[9]

text: "Taps" is sounded during each of the military wreath ceremonies conducted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every year, including the ones held on Memorial Day. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. "Taps" also is sounded nightly in military installations at non-deployed locations to indicate that it is "lights out", and often by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides to mark the end of an evening event such as a campfire.

text: Melody and lyrics[edit]

text: The melody of "Taps" is composed entirely from the written notes of the C major triad (i.e., C, E, and G, with the G used in the lower and higher octaves). This is because the bugle, for which it is written, can play only the notes in the harmonic series of the instrument's fundamental tone; a B-flat bugle thus plays the notes B-flat, D, and F. "Taps" uses the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth partials.

text: "Taps" is a bugle call - a signal, not a song.  As such, there is no associated lyric.  Many bugle calls had words associated with them as a mnemonic device but these are not lyrics.  A Horace Lorenzo Trim wrote a set of words intended to accompany the music:

text:
Day is done, gone the sun,
 From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
 All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight,
 And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
 From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.

Thanks and praise, for our days,
 'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, neath the sky;
 As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

Sun has set, shadows come,
 Time has fled, Scouts must go to their beds
 Always true to the promise that they made.

While the light fades from sight,
 And the stars gleaming rays softly send,
 To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.

text: Several later lyrical adaptations have been created.[citation needed]

text: Legends[edit]

text: There are several legends concerning the origin of "Taps". The most widely circulated one states that a Union Army infantry officer, whose name often is given as Captain Robert Ellicombe, first ordered "Taps" performed at the funeral of his son, a Confederate soldier killed during the Peninsula Campaign. This apocryphal[12][13][14] story claims that Ellicombe found the tune in the pocket of his son's clothing and performed it to honor his memory, but there is no record of any man named Robert Ellicombe holding a commission as captain in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign.[15]

text: That Daniel Butterfield composed "Taps" has been sworn to by numerous reputable witnesses including his bugler Norton,[16] who first performed the tune.  While scholars continue to debate whether or not the tune was original or based on an earlier melody, few researchers doubt that Butterfield is responsible for the current tune.

text: Another, perhaps more historically verifiable, account of "Taps" first being used in the context of a military funeral involves John C. Tidball, a Union artillery captain who during a break in fighting ordered the tune sounded for a deceased soldier in lieu of the more traditional—and much less discreet—three volley tribute. Army Col. James A. Moss, in an Officer's Manual initially published in 1911, reports the following:

text: During the Peninsula Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was not safe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted.

text: While not necessarily addressing the origin of the "Taps", this does represent the first recorded instance of "Taps" being sounded as part of a military funeral. Until then, while the tune had meant that the soldiers' day of work was finished, it had little to none of the connotation or overtone of death, with which it so often is associated today.

text: Another lesser-known legend is that of Lieutenant William Waid paying saloon-keepers to shut off the taps to the kegs when the song was played in a neighboring army camp.  Lt. Waid's name has not been found in Union or Confederate records.

text: Non-military variants[edit]

text: Although primarily used within the military, several local or special variations of the tune are performed, primarily by organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America or American military schools. It is also played all over the world in remembrance of the dead. Winston Churchill had "Taps" played at his funeral, followed by "Reveille."

text: Echo Taps and Silver Taps[edit]

text: Echo Taps or Silver Taps is a tradition in which "Taps" is played at U.S. military schools—such as Norwich University, Texas A&M University, New Mexico Military Institute, The Citadel, and Virginia Tech—when a member or former member of a school's corps of cadets is killed in action. Echo Taps ceremonies involve some arrangement of "Taps" for two buglers, playing antiphonally to represent both the cadet's branch of service and their college. Silver Taps ceremonies may use such an arrangement, or some other version for two or more instruments.

text: At Norwich University, the ceremony is held on the Upper Parade Ground, where the Corps of Cadets forms up silently at 2145 (9:45 p.m.) for tattoo, and then stands in silence until 2200 (10:00 p.m.) when "Echo Taps" is sounded, at which time unit commanders tacitly will give the commands of attention and present arms. The regimental bugler stands either near the flagpole in front of Jackman Hall or on Jackman's balcony and plays the main tune of "Taps". The echoing bugler will stand on the steps of Dewey Hall facing the Parade Ground and echo each series of notes. Following the sounding of "Taps", the Corps of Cadets dismisses in silence.

text: At Texas A&M, Echo Taps is held on the Corps of Cadets Quad at 10:30p.m. For the ceremony, the Corps falls out and both students and cadets gather to form around the Quad. A bugler is posted at the megaphone on the south end and another is at the arches on the north end. Cadets salute and the bugler on the south end plays the first three notes of Silver Taps, the bugler on the north end echoes, the bugler on the south end plays the next three notes and is echoed for the rest of the song. Cadets and students then return to their dorms.

text: By far, one of Texas A&M's most honored traditions is Silver Taps. Silver Taps is the student body's final tribute paid to an Aggie who, at the time of their death, was enrolled in undergraduate or graduate studies. This final tribute is held the first Tuesday of the month when a student has died the previous month. The first Silver Taps was held in 1898 and honored Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the former governor of Texas and president of A&M College. Silver Taps is currently held in the Academic Plaza. On the day of Silver Taps, a small card with the deceased student's name, class, major, and date of birth is placed as a notice at the base of the academic flagpole, in addition to the memorial located behind the flagpole. The A&M student newspaper, The Battalion, dedicates their Tuesday issue on a Silver Taps day to sharing stories of who the deceased students were. Around 10:15 that night, the lights are extinguished and hymns chime from Albritton Tower. Students silently gather at the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross. At 10:30p.m., the Ross Volunteer Firing Squad marches into the plaza and fires three rifle volleys totaling 21 shots fired. Six buglers then play a special rendition of Silver Taps by Colonel Richard Dunn (Aggie Band Director, 1924-1946). Taps is played three times from the dome of the Academic Building: once to the North, South, and West. It is not played to the East because the sun will never rise on that Aggie again. After the buglers play, the students silently return to their homes. Students return to their dorms, and lights remain extinguished until Reveille the next morning.

text: At New Mexico Military Institute, "Echo Taps" (otherwise known as "Silver Taps") is played by three trumpets on a night designated by the alumni association. This ceremony is held in the Hagerman Barracks to remember all the alumni who had died of normal causes or killed in action that year. This ceremony also includes the lighting and extinguishing of a candle for every alumni of the year. One bugler is posted at the north, south, and west side of the barracks and the candles at the east. After this early "Taps", complete silence marks the rest of the night.

text: Army Regulation 220-90, Army Bands dated December 2007, Paragraph 2-5h(1) states the following: "'Echo Taps' or 'Silver Taps', the practice of performing 'Taps' with multiple buglers, is not authorized. 'Echo Taps' is not a part of Army tradition and improperly uses bugler assets."

text: Army Regulation 600-25, Salutes, Honors, and Visits of Courtesy, dated September 2004, Glossary, Section two states the following: "Taps The traditional 'lights out' musical composition played at military funerals and memorials. The official version of 'Taps' is played by a single bugle. In accordance with AR 220–90, 'Echo or Silver Taps', which is performed by two buglers, is not authorized."

text: Field Manual 12-50, U.S. Army Bands, dated October 1999, Appendix A, Official And Ceremonial Music, Appendix A, Section 1 – Ceremonial Music, Paragraph A-35 "A-35. Signals that unauthorized lights are to be extinguished. This is the last call of the day. The call is also sounded at the completion of a military funeral ceremony. Taps is to be performed by a single bugler only. Performance of 'Silver Taps' or 'Echo Taps' is not consistent with Army traditions, and is an improper use of bugler assets."

text: Scouting[edit]

text: Many Scouting and Guiding groups around the world sing the first verse of "Taps" ("Day is Done...") at the close of a camp or campfire. Scouts in encampment may also have the unit's bugler sound taps once the rest of the unit has turned in, to signify that the day's activities have concluded and that silence is expected in the camp.[17]


document_title: Nicholson (name)

question_text: where does the last name nicholson come from

text: Nicholson (name)

text:
Nicholson

Language(s)
English

Origin

Meaning
derived from "Son of Nichol"

Other names

Variant(s)
DeNicola, DiNicola, McNichol, McNicholl, McNicol, Mikołajewicz, Mykolayenko, Mykolenko Nicolăescu, Nicolescu, Niculescu, Nielsen, Nigog(h)osian, Nigog(h)osyan, Nikog(h)osian, Nikog(h)osyan, Nikoladze, Nikolajević, Nikolaou, Nikolayev, Nikolayevsky, Nikolaou, Nikolić, Nikolopoulos, Nikolov, Nikolovski, Nilsen, Nilsson, Papanikolaou

Footnotes: [1]

text: Nicholson is a Germanic surname. It is a patronymic form of the given name Nichol, which was a common medieval form of Nicholas.[2]

text: People with the surname[edit]

text:
A. Nicholson (rugby league player), Australian rugby league footballer
Aideen Nicholson (born 1927), Irish-born Canadian politician
A. J. Nicholson (born 1983), American football linebacker
Alexander Malcolm Nicholson (1900–1991), Canadian clergyman, farmer, and politician
Alfred O. P. Nicholson (1808–1876), United States Senator from Tennessee
Alistair Nicholson (born 1978), Australian rules footballer
Anne-Marie Nicholson (born 1991), English singer and songwriter known professionally as Anne-Marie
Archibald Keightley Nicholson (1871–1937), British ecclesiastical stained-glass maker
Asenath Nicholson (1792–1855), American activist, writer and philanthropist
Barry Nicholson (born 1978), Scottish footballer
Ben Nicholson (1894–1982), English abstract painter (married to Winifred Nicholson)
Bill Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Bob Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Bruce Nicholson, special effects artist
Sir Charles Nicholson (1808–1903), British–Australian politician
Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson (1867–1949), British ecclesiastical architect
Charles Ernest Nicholson, (1868 - 1954) British yacht designer
Christopher Nicholson (1904–1948), British architect and designer
Claude Nicholson, Australian rugby league footballer
Claude Nicholson, (1898–1943) British Brigadier, in command of Calais during the Siege of Calais (1940)
Danell Nicholson (born 1967), American boxer
David Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Donald Nicholson (disambiguation), multiple people
Donte Nicholson (born 1981), American NFL football player
Edward Max Nicholson (1904–2003), British environmentalist and ornithologist
Eliza Jane Nicholson (1843–1896), American journalist
Elliot Nicholson (1871–1953), English rugby union player
Elwyn Nicholson (1923-2014), American businessman and politician
Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (born 1941), British politician
Rev Ernest Nicholson (1938 - 2013), British biblical scholar
Francis Nicholson (1655–1727/8), British military officer and colonial governor
Francis Nicholson (painter) (1753–1844), British artist
Frank Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Geoff Nicholson (born 1953), British novelist and short story writer
George Nicholson (printer) (1760–1825), British printer
George Nicholson (footballer), English footballer
Sir Godfrey Nicholson (1901–1991), British Conservative Party politician
Grace Nicholson (1877-1948), American art collector and art dealer
Harold James Nicholson (born 1950), CIA officer convicted of spying for Russia
Henry Alleyne Nicholson (1816-1878), British palaeontologist and zoologist
J.C. Nicholson (born 1942), American judge
Jack Nicholson (born 1937), American actor
James W. Nicholson (1821–1887), U.S. Navy officer during Mexican–American War and Civil War
Jim Nicholson (U.S. politician) (born 1938), United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Joe Nicholson (1898–1978), English footballer
John Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Joseph Hopper Nicholson (1770–1817), American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Maryland
Joseph Shield Nicholson (1850–1927), English economist
Joyce Nicholson (born 1919), Australian author
Julianne Nicholson (born 1971), American actress
John Kenyon Nicholson, American playwright
Ken Nicholson, video game developer and Windows graphics pioneer
Kevin Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Leonard Nicholson (1904–1983), tenth Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (1951–1959)
Lorna Schultz Nicholson, Canadian children's writer
Lorraine Nicholson, American actress, daughter of Jack Nicholson
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson (1890–1968), American pulp magazine writer and comic book pioneer
Marjorie Nicholson (1914–1997), British activist
Matthew Nicholson (born 1974), Australian cricketer
Meredith Nicholson (1866–1947), American author and politician
Meredith Merle Nicholson (1913–2005), American cinematographer
Michael Nicholson (1937–2016), English journalist
Myra Nicholson (1894–2007), Australian supercentenarian
Nancy Nicholson (1899–1977), British painter and fabric designer
Natalie Nicholson (born 1976), American curler
Neil Nicholson (cricketer), (English cricketer)
Norman Nicholson (1914–1987), English poet
Ossie Nicholson (1906–1965), Australian cyclist
Parson Nicholson (1863–1917), American Major League Baseball player
Paul Nicholson (ice hockey) (born 1954), Canadian ice hockey forward
Paul Nicholson (industrialist) (born 1938), British industrialist
Paul Nicholson (darts player) (born 1979), English-born Australian darts player
Peter Nicholson (architect) (1765–1844), British architect, engineer and mathematician
Peter Nicholson (cartoonist) (born 1946), Australian political cartoonist
Reginald Nicholson (1869-1946), English politician
Reginald F. Nicholson (1852-1939), United States Navy admiral
Reynold A. Nicholson (1868–1945), British orientalist
Richard Nicholson (composer) (c1570–1639), English composer
Richard Nicholson (dates unknown), Australian paralympics competitor
Robert Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Roscoe Nicholson (1887–1959), American surveyor and conservationist
Ross Nicholson (born 1975), New Zealand football goalkeeper
Roxie Nicholson (born 1950), U.S. Department of Labor welfare policy analyst
Russ Nicholson, British illustrator
Samuel Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Seth Barnes Nicholson (1891–1963), American astronomer
Shane Nicholson (born 1970), English footballer
Skonk Nicholson (born 1917), South African rugby coach
Stan Nicholson, rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s
Stuart Nicholson (1987), English footballer
Sir Sydney Nicholson (1875–1947), English choir directory, organist, composer, founder of the Royal College of Music
Thomas Nicholson American health educator
Tony Nicholson (1938–1985), English cricketer
Viv Nicholson (born 1936), British gambling winner and tabloid target
William Nicholson (disambiguation), several people
Winifred Nicholson (née Roberts) (1893–1981), English painter (married to Ben Nicholson)


document_title: Catherine Linton

question_text: who does young catherine marry in wuthering heights

text: Catherine Linton

text: This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
Catherine (Cathy) Linton

Information

Nickname(s)
Cathy

Family
Edgar Linton (father)
Cathy Earnshaw (mother)

Spouse(s)
Linton Heathcliff
Hareton Earnshaw

text: Catherine Linton (also known as "Young Catherine" or Cathy Linton and later as Catherine Heathcliff then as Catherine Earnshaw) is a character in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights. She is the daughter of Edgar Linton and Cathy Earnshaw, and, despite Heathcliff's attempts at exacting revenge on her for the indiscretions of her family, she eventually marries her true love, Hareton Earnshaw, re-establishing long-lost equilibrium in the story.

text: Story[edit]

text: About eleven o'clock that night was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven-months' child; and two hours after the mother died, having never recovered sufficient consciousness to miss Heathcliff, or know Edgar.

text: Cathy is the only child of Catherine and Edgar. Her mother dies a few hours after giving premature birth to her, about half-way through the novel. Her father, Edgar, calls her "Cathy" for the most part, while Heathcliff refers to her as "Catherine", because he called her mother "Cathy" as an expression of his immense affection and love for her.

text: Cathy is a very curious and mischievous girl, and, at thirteen years of age, she seeks out Wuthering Heights, the house to which she is not allowed to travel because Heathcliff, Edgar's enemy, resides there. On arrival she meets Hareton Earnshaw, the nephew of her mother. Nelly, who travels with her, insists that he is indeed her cousin, but Cathy, genuinely amazed at his coarse, uneducated language, his dirty clothes and his savage manner, insists that there is no way that it could be so.

text: On her second visit, which Nelly desperately tries to prevent, Heathcliff meets her for the first time, greeting her with a warm and kindly matter, although we know that he blames her for the death of his soul mate, her mother. He tells Nelly that he means no harm; he only wants Cathy and his own son, Linton, to fall in love and be married. As a result of his encouragement, Cathy and Linton grow close. When Nelly forbids Cathy from visiting Wuthering Heights and the bitter tyrant Heathcliff, they take to writing love letters to one another.

text: It soon becomes apparent that Heathcliff's plans for their marriage form part of his endeavour for revenge on Edgar and his daughter: Catherine will marry Linton, be it willingly or not. Nelly finds the childish love letters and burns them. Linton's letters, it is implied, are so beautiful that they were most likely written by Heathcliff as a means of drawing Cathy to the Heights.

text: ...yet with touches, here and there, which, I thought, were borrowed from a more experienced source.

text: The relationship sinks after Nelly's discovery, but it later emerges, to Nelly's considerable horror, that Cathy has been making more visits to Wuthering Heights in their stead.

text: Edgar presently falls ill with distress, and Heathcliff keeps Cathy and Nelly at the Heights until Catherine finally agrees to marry Linton. Desperate to see her father once more before he dies, she consents, and her fate at Wuthering Heights is sealed. Edgar dies, kissing his daughter on the cheek, knowing that Thrushcross Grange, the Linton household, is now in the hands of his enemy.

text: Linton, who does not at all resemble his father, but is in almost every way like his mother, falls ill as well and dies shortly after his marriage. Heathcliff forces him in his dying moments to bequeath everything to him, nothing to Catherine. As a result, it seems that Catherine, now cold and distant because of her understandable misery, is yet another character destined for an unhappy ending.

text: Eventually, however, she and Hareton form an unlikely romance: after long having shrugged off his attempts at winning her affection, she begins to aid him in his education. Heathcliff sees the love between the two blossom and, probably because he has a grudging soft spot for Hareton, no longer takes pleasure in degrading them. Heathcliff begins to see Hareton as an adopted son, sharing a similar life of the poor stable boy robbed of his inheritance and love. He no longer stands between Hareton and Catherine, seeing it as now a pointless endeavour and essentially as revenge against himself, and the two are finally allowed to openly love each other.

text: Heathcliff dies and is buried next to the elder Cathy. Catherine and Hareton make plans to marry on New Year's Day, and to reside at Thrushcross Grange.

text: Description[edit]

text: Although she is Cathy Earnshaw's daughter, she resembles her father more in looks, with golden ringlets and fair skin. The only qualities that she inherits from her mother are the beautiful "Earnshaw eyes" (which also belong to her future husband, Hareton Earnshaw) and her wayward, mischievous spirit. At first, Catherine is gentle and kind, but a bit snobbish because of her guarded and wealthy upbringing at the Grange; however, when reduced to a life of misery at the Heights, she grows cold, distant, and dismissive of everyone around her. It is her romance with Hareton that re-establishes her bubbly personality.

text:
[hide]

v
t
e

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

Characters

Heathcliff
Catherine Earnshaw
Edgar Linton
Isabella Linton
Hindley Earnshaw
Nelly Dean
Hareton Earnshaw
Catherine Linton
Lockwood

Adaptations

Film and TV

1920 film
1939 film
1954 film
1959 Australian TV play
Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966)
1964 telenovela
1970 film
1976 telenovela
1978 TV serial
1979 telenovela
Hurlevent
1988 film
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1992)
1998 film
2003 film
2009 TV serial
2011 film

Stage

1951 Herrmann opera
1958 Floyd opera
1992 musical
Heathcliff (1996 musical)

Related

Location
Cultural references

text: Fictional characters introduced in 1847Characters in Wuthering Heights

text: Articles that may contain original research from May 2009All articles that may contain original researchPages using infobox character with unknown parameters