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Wonderlust Fall Reception
America’s Ambivalent Romance
with Silver: Behind the Legend of Baby Doe
Mingle and enjoy refreshments at the Wonderlust annual reception
on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at the Museum of the Rockies foyer and
auditorium from 5 - 7 p.m.
All are welcome! Learn more about Wonderlust’s community of lifelong
learners and enjoy the presentation with MSU Adjunct Professor Dale Martin.
America’s Ambivalent Romance
with Silver: Behind the Legend of Baby Doe
 | | Baby Doe's Daughter, Rosemary "Silver Dollar" Tabor |
Explore the historical significance of silver in the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th centuries–the background of the stories of Horace, Augusta and Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor. During the long era, silver had many purposes and meanings for Americans. Silver coins filled pockets and purses. The place of silver in the nation’s monetary system made it one of the most contentious issues in the politics of the 1870s–1890s. Silver inspired one of the most famous speeches in U.S. political history. Silver, with its associated hopes and illusions, began or made the reputations of William Jennings Bryan, the father of William Randolph Hearst, the state of Nevada, the basic unit of U.S. currency, and hundreds of taverns called the Silver Dollar.
Dale Martin grew up in the Seattle area and attended Washington State University
for undergraduate and graduate education, finishing with an M.A. in history.
He has worked since the 1970s in archaeological excavation and surveys, inventories
of historic buildings and structures (such as mines and bridges) and historical
research. His particular interests in history include the American and Canadian
West; industrial technology, especially railways and mining; and the First World
War. He is now an instructor of history at MSU-Bozeman. He’s old enough
to remember when silver coins, including silver dollars, formed most of pocket
change.
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