The Most Important Treasury Secretary You've Never Heard Of

Think fast – who’s on the $10,000 bill?  Granted, you may never have actually seen or held one in your hands, but you’d probably know the name if I said it, right?

Okay – it’s Salmon P. Chase who appears on it.

Never heard of him, right?  As we approach Independence Day, I thought we’d take a look at a fairly obscure but important American, the man who both created the national banking system and invented America’s paper currency.

Salmon was a politician from Ohio in the mid-19th century, one of the most outspoken anti-slavery voices in the nation.  He ran for the Presidency as the first Republican candidate, eventually throwing his support behind Abe Lincoln for the national race.  Lincoln ultimately made Chase his Secretary of the Treasury after the election.

As Treasury Secretary from 1861 to 1864, Salmon Chase raised the $500 million needed to finance the Civil War after striving hard to prevent it’s having to be fought at all.  To accomplish this, he sold war bonds with the help of early investment bankers Jay Cooke & Co.

Chase also was the father of our modern paper currency as he created the first “greenback” demand note in 1861.  We won’t hold the fact that his own face appeared on many of these notes against him.  Chase is said to have personally made the decision to have “In God We Trust” added to the bills as well.

Salmon Chase died at the the age of 65 in 1873 and the Chase Manhattan Bank (now a part of JPMorgan Chase) was named in his honor.  From 1928 to 1946, the $10,000 bill was printed and circulated with his face on it.

Anti-slavery activist, proto-Republican and creator of the US paper currency – Salmon Chase is a name you should know.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. click here commented on Sep 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  2. miniature painting service commented on Sep 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 20752 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  3. sex commented on Sep 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  4. replica vacheron constantin commented on Sep 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  5. Arcade games for sale commented on Oct 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  6. Intelligent automation solutions commented on Nov 13

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  7. dumps pin shop commented on Nov 16

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  8. carpet cleaning prices hemel hempstead commented on Nov 30

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  9. replica Bmw Watches commented on Dec 08

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 25944 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  10. CI CD commented on Jan 11

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  11. scotia online commented on Jan 13

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  12. here commented on Jan 13

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]

  13. rego search commented on Jan 15

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2010/06/26/the-most-important-treasury-secretary-youve-never-heard-of/ […]