6139008-History-of-Money

A typical Civil War-era United States $5 Treasury Note(Greenback).During the American Civil War, the Union government didnot have enough silver or gold bullion to mint enoughmoney [dollars] to pay the costs of the war in LawfulMoney, so it unconstitutionally printed, not minted, the firstUnited States of America paper currency: United StatesTreasury Notes (called "Greenbacks") under the Doctrine of"Necessity" [if we have to do it to survive, it is "necessary"and, hence, justifiable].You will notice that this piece of paper is NOT 5 Dollars; butit has the appearance of a conditional Promissory Note (aNegotiable Instrument); i.e., a Promise to pay 5 Dollars tothe Bearer limited by the condition that the bearer mayredeem the Note in lawful money at the United StatesTreasury in New York. And we do not know how muchtrouble it might have been to travel to New York during theCivil War. To be legally valid, a Promissory Note must be in writing and must have these necessary elements:1. A firm promise to pay [by the payor];2. A Definite sum of money;3. A recipient [the payee];4. A definite date when such definite sum of money is due and payable; and5. The signature of the Note maker [the payor].From Tax Analyst's Taxation Museum: "The Civil War represented a watershed moment in the history of Americantaxation. The quick, limited engagement both sides confidently predicted soon proved a chimera. Instead, the exigenciesof protracted, destructive warfare "engulfing private property and civilian populations as well as commissionedcombatants" demanded innovations in government financing. While the outcome of the conflict may be attributed to anynumber of contingent factors, the varying fiscal strategies undertaken by the Union and Confederate governmentsundoubtedly influenced the capacity of both societies to sustain the war effort. North and South employed markedlydifferent approaches. The North's proved more efficacious in the long run....In order for the bond program to besuccessful, the North needed an unrestricted currency supply for citizens to pay for them and a source of income toguarantee the interest. The Legal Tender Act filled the first requirement. Passed in February, 1862, the Act authorized theissue of $150 million in Treasury notes, known as Greenbacks. In contrast to Confederate paper, however, Congressrequired citizens, banks, and governments to accept Greenbacks as legal tender for public and private debts, except forinterest on federal bonds and customs duties. This policy allowed buyers to purchase bonds with greenbacks while theinterest accrued to them was paid in gold (funded, in part, by specie payments of customs duties). Investors enjoyed abountiful windfall, since government securities purchased with depreciated currency were redeemed with gold valued atthe pre-war level. Taxpayers essentially made up the difference. Because most bonds were acquired by the wealthy or byfinancial institutions, the program concentrated investment capital in the hands of those likely to use it, much asAlexander Hamilton's debt plan had sought to do. ...The Internal Revenue Act of 1862, enacted by Congress in July, 1862,soaked up much of the inflationary pressure produced by Greenbacks. It did so because the Act placed excise taxes onjust about everything, including sin and luxury items like liquor, tobacco, playing cards, carriages, yachts, billiard tables,and jewelry. It taxed patent medicines and newspaper advertisements. It imposed license taxes on practically everyprofession or service except the clergy. It instituted stamp taxes, value-added taxes on manufactured goods andprocessed meats, inheritance taxes, taxes on the gross receipts of corporations, banks, and insurance companies, as wellas taxes on dividends or interest they paid to investors. Toadminister these excise taxes, along with the tariff system, theInternal Revenue Act also created a Bureau of InternalRevenue, whose first commissioner, George Boutwell, describedit as "the largest Government department ever organized."...The first federal income tax in American history actuallypreceded the Internal Revenue Act of 1862. Passed in August,1861, it had helped assure the financial community that thegovernment would have a reliable source of income to pay theinterest on war bonds."Theoretically, the present-day "income tax" may still be beingused to provide security for the repayment of the United State'soutstanding obligations and to soak up the inflationary pressureof fiat money. "Taxpayers" would then be being treated as thesurety or collateral for the debts of the United States. After theCivil War, Congress recalled the Greenbacks from circulationand re-authorized the minting of silver and gold Dollars. After1913, the first Federal Reserve Notes were introduced intoThe Hidden History Of Money & New World Order Usury Secrets Revealed at last! Page 395