Sometimes, it takes a while for people to get outraged about a law.
Maybe it’s all of the legalese — for instance, it is not the case that double negatives are unacceptable in drafting legal documents.
Maybe it’s the arcane parliamentary procedure that only C-SPAN junkies have the wherewithal to comprehend or stomach. Heck, even C-SPAN gets bored during quorum calls and starts playing background music.
Or maybe it’s not always apparent what a law’s effects will be until it’s been in effect for a few years.
That was the case with the Coinage Act of 1873 (also known as the Fourth Coinage Act). A few years after its enactment, the law would become known as the “Crime of 1873” and helped spawn a powerful political movement that influenced multiple presidential elections.
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