g notes, payable
to bearer, in denominations of not less than $5, and legal tender in
payment of all debts, public and private, except duties on imports and
interest on the public debt. These notes were made exchangeable for 6
per cent. bonds and receivable for loans that might thereafter be made
by the Government. Supplementary acts of July 11, 1862, and January
17, 1863, authorized additional issues of $150,000,000 each, in
denominations of not less than one dollar, and the time in which to
exchange the notes for bonds was limited to July 1, 1863. It was under
these Acts that the legal-tender notes known as "greenbacks," now
outstanding, were issued.

The retirement of the greenbacks was begun soon after the war. On April
12, 1866, an Act authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to retire and
cancel not more than $10,000,000 of these notes within six months of the
passage of the Act, and $4,000,000 per month thereafter. This policy of
contraction was carried out by Secretary McCulloch, who urged still more
rapid contraction; but the policy was resisted by a large influence in
the country, and on February 4, 1868, an Act of Congress suspending the
authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to retire and cancel United
States notes, became a law without the signature of the President.

On March 18, 1869, an "Act to strengthen the public credit" was passed,
which declared that the "greenbacks" were redeemable in coin. This Act
concluded as follows: "And the United States also solemnly pledges
its faith to make provision at the earliest practicable period for the
redemption of the United States notes in coin."

On January 14, 1875, the "Resumption Act" was passed. It declared that
"on and after January 1, 1879, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
redeem in coin the United States legal-tender notes then outstanding,
on their presentation for redemption at the office of the Assistant
Treasurer of the United States in the city of New York, in sums of
not less than fifty dollars." The same Act provided that while the
legal-tender notes outstanding remained in excess of $300,000,000, the
Secretary of the Treasury should redeem such notes to the amount of 80
per cent. of the increase in National Bank notes issued.

On May 31, 1878, an Act was passed forbidding the further retirement of
United States legal-tender notes, and providing that "when any of said
notes may be redeemed or be received into the Treasury under any law
f