Demand Note (Greenbacks)

In 1861, The U.S. government began issuing “Demand Notes.” This was the first paper money circulated by the federal government in almost a century. The government needed money to finance the Civil War, so while people in Congress debated about whether or not the government had the authority to print money, the government began printing demand notes.

The faces of the new bills were black, but the reverses were printed in green, so people called them “greenbacks.” Demand notes did not have a treasury seal or signatures.

The national Southern government (the Confederacy) also printed paper currency.