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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

Ohio Idea


Proposal to redeem American Civil War bonds in paper money instead of gold. The plan, part of the debate between hard-money advocates and soft-money or Greenback movement supporters after the Civil War, was sponsored by George Pendleton and was especially popular in the Midwest. Endorsed by the Democratic Party in 1868, it died with the election of Ulysses S. Grant and passage of the Public Credit Act (1869), which provided for payment of government obligations in gold.

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US History Encyclopedia: Ohio Idea

Ohio Idea, the proposal to redeem the Civil War's five-twenty bonds in greenbacks—legal tender that could not be exchanged for gold—rather than in coin (1867–1868). Put forth as an inflationary measure by the Cincinnati Enquirer, the proposal was so popular among farmers and manufacturers (groups that depended on easy credit) that both political parties in the Middle West were forced to endorse it, although neither committed itself outright to inflation. Opponents of the measure tended to be investors who wanted to reduce the Civil War's fiscal fluctuations by adopting a noninflationary "hard money" policy.

Bibliography

Destler, Chester M. "Origin and Character of the Pendleton Plan." Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 24, no. 2 (1937): 171–184.

Myers, Margaret G. A Financial History of the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.

 
Wikipedia: Ohio idea

The Ohio idea was an idea by poor Midwesterners during the US presidential election of 1868 to redeem federal war bonds in United States dollars, also known as greenbacks, rather than gold. Agrarian Democrats hoped to keep more money in circulation to keep interest rates lower. In summary, wealthy eastern delegates demanded a plank promising that federal war bonds be redeemed in gold-even though many of the bonds had been purchased with badly depreciated paper greenbacks. Poorer Midwestern delegates answered with the "Ohio Idea," which called for redemption in greenbacks. Debt-burdened agrarian Democrats thus hoped to keep more money in circulation and keep interest rates lower. This dispute later showed a bitter fight over the money policy that would fight the Republic and cause disagreement until the century's end.

The Democratic candidate in 1868, Horatio Seymour, blew the Democrats' hope for the Presidency by repudiating the Ohio Idea plank.

Ulysses S. Grant won, with 214 electoral votes to 80 for Seymour.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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