‘Greenback’ effort to restore Lincoln offices

Although government-issued notes called “greenbacks” were discontinued after the Civil War, the name has stuck through the years as a slang expression for paper money in various denominations.

The Old State Capitol Foundation (OSCF) will conduct a campaign called “A Greenback for a Great Cause” to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the former law offices of Abraham Lincoln.

The Illinois State Bar Association is supporting the initiative as part of its participation in the Lincoln Bicentennial. Lawyers and law firms will receive information in next month’s Bar News about how to be a part of the Greenback campaign.

Raising greenbacks will help the OSCF accurately restore and interpret the 1840s federal court complex in Springfield, including the Lincoln-Herndon law offices, and focus new attention on their historical significance.

With Lincoln’s blessing, the Treasury Department in 1862 began issuing Legal Tender Notes - referred to as greenbacks for the obvious reason - to cover some of the costs of the Civil War and to stimulate the economy.

Statutory limitations on the amount of greenbacks in circulation were established by the Currency Acts of 1862 and 1863, since the notes were not backed by gold, bank deposits or government reserves.

Lincoln advocated government-issued currency and tried to make the Greenback System permanent when the war ended. After his death in April 1865, however, the U.S. moved toward a gold standard and reduced the supply of greenbacks.

A Greenback Party was established in 1874 in the belief that government control of the monetary system would permit the circulation of more currency, as had occurred during the Civil War.

In the election of 1878, 21 independents representing the Greenback Party were elected to the 46th Congress. Among them was Albert P. Forsythe of the Illinois 15th District.

The party backed candidates for president and vice president in 1876, 1880 and 1884, but only eight delegates attended the 1888 convention and the party died out.

More recently, a Save the Greenback organization was formed after the Government Accounting Office reported in 2000 that elimination of the dollar bill would save $500 million annually.

Employees of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, along with its paper and ink suppliers, successfully opposed efforts of a Coin Coalition to phase out the paper dollar.