Lot M. Morrill (1812-1883) earned the reputation of an accomplished financier in the Senate (1861-1876) as the first chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. In 1862 he played a major role in emancipating the slaves of the District of Columbia and in gaining them suffrage. President Grant appointed Morrill Secretary of the Treasury in 1876 upon Secretary Benjamin Bristow's resignation. The prominent concern at the time was the redemption of all civil war issue greenbacks and the return to a currency backed by gold, specified by Congress to occur in 1879.
Like Bristow, Morrill advocated a currency backed by gold and considered "irredeemable and inconvertible paper currency... essentially repugnant to the principles of the Constitution." This was unpopular in the South and West, areas that required capital for expansion and therefore preferred cheap paper money. Though he was not in office long enough to effect major legislation, Morrill suggested in his Annual Report of 1876 that the Secretary of the Treasury begin accumulating gold in anticipation of the eventual adoption of a gold backed currency in 1879. He resigned at the end of Grant's term, but the currency debate was to continue for years to come.
- Text Courtesy of the Office
of the Curator
Unauthorized Site:
This site and its contents are not affiliated, connected,
associated with or authorized by the individual, family,
friends, or trademarked entities utilizing any part or
the subject's entire name. Any official or affiliated
sites that are related to this subject will be hyper
linked below upon submission
and Evisum, Inc. review.
