Page "Thaddeus Stevens" Paragraph 11

Stevens led the Radical Republican faction in their battle against the bankers over the issuance of money during the Civil War.

Stevens made various speeches in Congress in favor of President Lincoln and Henry Carey's " Greenback " system, interest-free currency in the form of fiat government-issued United States Notes that would effectively threaten the bankers ' profits in being able to issue and control the currency through fractional reserve loans.

Stevens warned that a debt-based monetary system controlled by for-profit banks would lead to the eventual bankruptcy of the people, saying " the Government and not the banks should have the benefit from creating the medium of exchange ," yet after Lincoln's assassination the Radical Republicans lost this battle and a National banking monopoly emerged in the years after.