Suspenders for the nation’s finances during a time of crisis: a clear look at how legal tender and paper money shaped the Civil War era.
This edition examines the legal tender act, its goals, and the financial debates that followed. It presents arguments, letters, and policy discussions that influenced money, credit, and government borrowing in the 1860s and beyond. The material focuses on how monetary tools were used, contested, and rethought as the nation fought to stay united.
- How the Legal Tender Act came to be and why it mattered for the war effort
- Arguments around currency, gold, and the banking system in a strained economy
- Role of banks, the sub-treasury, and the evolution of national currency
- Longer-term implications for American finance and monetary policy
Ideal for readers of financial history, Civil War economics, and the evolution of the U.S. monetary system.