Greenback Party

Greenback Party, in U.S. history, a political party formed in 1875, chiefly by midwestern and southern farmers. The primary aims of the party were the adoption of a new national monetary policy based on bimetallism and federal issuance of paper currency, called greenback, not backed by gold.

The party was organized after the depression of the early 1870s, when the indebtedness of farmers to merchants and banks was rising and prices were declining. The farmers believed that adopting the measures they advocated would result in general prosperity for the nation and would also allow them to pay off their debts and to raise the prices of their products.

The Greenbackers decided on the formation of an independent party late in 1874, after they failed to persuade the Democratic party to adopt their views. The first national convention of the Greenback party was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1876, and Peter Cooper, a manufacturer and philanthropist, was nominated for the presidency. Cooper received 81,737 popular votes but no electoral votes in the election held that year. In 1878 the Greenback party was dissolved, and its farmer-members united with workers to form the Greenback-Labor party.