Republican (nationalist) President Abraham Lincoln, of the united States, signs the first Legal Tender Act of 1862, authorizing the Treasurer the u.S. to issue 150,000,000 “dollars” in irredeemable fiat (Latin for “let it be done”) “Greenback” currency (Bills of Credit) and mandating their acceptance at par value with lawful Money (gold and silver Coin).

       NOTES:

• Governments have always used legal tender laws to force their citizens to accept debased and devalued currency.
• Banking interests almost immediately lobbied, and obtained, the “Exception Clause” disqualifying Greenbacks from being used to pay import duties or interest on the debt, which still had to paid with gold Coin (lawful Money). This allowed the bankers to buy sell gold, at a premium, to importers who needed it to pay federal duties.  The bankers would then buy federal bonds with the Greenbacks, which paid interest in gold Coin at par (face value).  This allowed the bankers to make a profit buying the discounted Greenbacks again from the importers in exchange for gold Coin.  The market value of the Greenback was directly tied to Union prospects for winning the war: the worse the war went for the Union, the greater the discount on the Greenback, and the greater the profits for the bankers.

       [restored 3/26/2022] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix and Bill Holmes for this entry.