Greenback (1860s money)
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Greenbacks were emergency paper
History
Background
Before the Civil War, the United States used
The Buchanan administration had run chronic deficits as the country weathered the Panic of 1857. The southern secession movement worsened the situation, as the government lost substantial tax revenue.[4] It continued to operate during the presidential transition on private bank loans at rates up to 12 percent, with some banks asking as much as 36.[5] Salmon P. Chase, as the Treasury secretary of the incoming Lincoln administration, found the banks more receptive but struggled to keep enough coins in the Treasury to meet expenditures.[6]
Demand Notes
The first measure to finance the war occurred in July 1861, when Congress authorized $50,000,000 (~$1.33 billion in 2023) in
The later
United States Notes
The number of Demand Notes issued was far insufficient to meet the war expenses of the government but even so was not supportable. The solution came from Colonel
Since the reverse of the notes was printed with green ink, they were called "greenbacks" by the public and considered to be equivalent to the Demand Notes, which were already known as such. The United States Notes were issued by the United States to pay for labor and goods.[9]
Earlier, Secretary Chase had the slogan "
]California and Oregon defied the Legal Tender Act. Gold was more available on the West Coast, and merchants in those states did not want to accept U.S. Notes at face value. They blacklisted people who tried to use them at face value. California banks would not accept greenbacks for deposit, and the state would not accept them for payment of taxes. Both states ruled that greenbacks were a violation of their state constitutions.[10]
As the government issued hundreds of millions in greenbacks, their value against gold declined. The decline was substantial, but was nothing like the collapse of the continental dollar.
In 1862, the greenback declined against gold until by December, gold had become at a 29% premium. By spring of 1863, the greenback declined further, to 152 against 100 dollars in gold. However, after the Union victory at Gettysburg, the greenback recovered to 131 dollars to 100 in gold. In 1864, it declined again, as Grant was making little progress against Lee, who held strong in Richmond throughout most of the war. The greenback's low point came in July that year, with 258 greenbacks equal to 100 gold. When the war ended in April 1865 the greenback made another recovery to 150.[11] The recovery began when Congress limited the total issue of greenback dollars to $450 million. The greenbacks rose in value until December 1878, when they became on par with gold. Greenbacks then became freely convertible into gold.[12]
Complete set of 1862–63 greenbacks
Issue | Date[13] | Denominations |
---|---|---|
First | March 10, 1862 | $5, $10, $20 |
Second | August 1, 1862 | $1 & $2 |
Third | March 10, 1863 | $50 to $1,000 |
Obligation | Obligation text[13] |
---|---|
First | This note is a legal tender for all debts, public and private, except duties on imports and interest on the public debt, and is exchangeable for the U.S. six percent twenty-year bonds, redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after five years. |
Second | This note is a legal tender for all debts, public and private, except duties on imports and interest on the public debt, and is receivable in payment of all loans made to the United States. |
Value | Year | Obligation | Fr. | Image | Portrait[nb 2] | Population[nb 3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$1 | 1862 | Second[nb 4] | Fr.16c | Salmon P. Chase (Joseph P. Ourdan)[15] | 2,607 (194) | |
$2 | 1862 | Second | Fr.41 | Alexander Hamilton | 1,212 (881) | |
$5 | 1862 | First | Fr.61a | Freedom (Owen G. Hanks, eng; Thomas Crawford, art)[16] Alexander Hamilton | 1,591 (188) | |
$10 | 1863 | First | Fr.95b | Abraham Lincoln (Frederick Girsch);[17] Eagle; Art | 375 (161) | |
$20 | 1863 | First | Fr.126b | Liberty | 375 (161) | |
$50 | 1862 | Third | Fr.148a | Alexander Hamilton (Joseph P. Ourdan)[18] | 45 (1) | |
$100 | 1863 | Third | Fr.167 | Vignette spread eagle (Joseph P. Ourdan)[19] | 51 (2) | |
$500 | 1862 | Third | Fr.183c | Albert Gallatin | 6 (4) | |
$1,000 | 1863 | Third | Fr.186e | Robert Morris (Charles Schlecht) | 4 (1) |
See also
Notes
- ^ Acts 3:6
- ^ Names in parentheses are either the engravers or artists responsible for the concept and/or initial design.
- ^ The first number represents the total population[clarification needed] for the design type, the second number (in parentheses) is the total number of notes known for the variety illustrated in the table.
- ^ The $1 and $2 denominations were only issued with the Second obligation on the reverse. All other denominations were issued with both payment obligations.[14]
References
- ^ ISBN 9781851096824.
- ISBN 9780226803845.
- ^ Brands 2011, p. 1.
- ^ Mitchell 1903, p. 5.
- ^ Mitchell 1903, p. 7.
- ^ Mitchell 1903, p. 23.
- ^ Lincoln, Abraham; et al. (Hobson, J.T.) (1912). The Lincoln Year Book: Containing Immortal Words of Abraham Lincoln Spoken and Written on Various Occasions, Preceded by Appropriate Scripture Texts and Followed by Choice Poetic Selections for Each Day in the Year, with Special Reference to Anniversary Dates (First ed.). Dayton, Ohio: Press of United Brethren publishing house. p. 348.
- ^ Brands 2011, p. 12.
- ISBN 0-13-063085-3.
- ISBN 0-932790-31-3.
- ^ Brands 2011, p. 13.
- ^ "BEP HISTORY FACT SHEET - UNITED STATES NOTES". The Bureau of Engraving & Printing, Department of the Treasury. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 14th and C Streets, SW, Washington, DC 20228, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Western Currency Facility, 9000 Blue Mound Road, Fort Worth, TX 76131. April 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ a b Friedberg & Friedberg 2013, p. 37.
- ^ Friedberg & Friedberg 2013, pp. 37–56.
- ^ Hessler 2004, p. 24.
- ^ Hessler 2004, p. 20.
- ^ Hessler 2004, p. 22.
- ^ Hessler 2004, p. 27.
- ^ Hessler 2004, p. 28.
Sources
- Brands, H. W. (2011). Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292739338.
- Friedberg, Arthur L.; Friedberg, Ira S. (2013). Paper Money of the United States (20th ed.). Coin & Currency Institute. ISBN 978-0-87184-020-2. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- Hessler, Gene (2004). U.S. Essay, Proof and Specimen Notes (2nd ed.). BNR Press. ISBN 0-931960-62-2.
- Mitchell, Wesley Clair (1903). A history of the greenbacks: with special reference to the economic consequences of their issue: 1862–65. University of Chicago Press.
- Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson (1904). Abraham Lincoln. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs. Vol.I Vol.II
- Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson (1907). Jay Cooke: Financier of the Civil War. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs. Vol.I Vol.II
Further reading
- Bye, John O. (1963). Lincoln's greenback currency. University of Michigan.
- Noll, Franklin (March 2012). "The United States Monopolization of Bank Note Production: Politics, Government, and the Greenback, 1862–1878". American Nineteenth Century History. 13 (13): 15–43. S2CID 144566502.