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The
Legal Tender Cases were a series of
United States Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
cases in the latter part of the nineteenth century that affirmed the constitutionality of paper money. In the 1870 case of
Hepburn v. GriswoldHepburn v. Griswold, 75 U.S. 603 , was a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Chief Justice, Salmon P. Chase, speaking for the Court, declared certain parts of the legal tender acts to be unconstitutional...
, the Court had held that
paper moneyPaper Money is the second album by the band Montrose. It was released in 1974 and was the band's last album to feature Sammy Hagar as lead vocalist.-History:...
violated the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. The
Legal Tender Cases reversed
Hepburn, beginning with
Knox v. LeeKnox v. Lee, 79 U.S. 457 , was an important case for its time where the Supreme Court of the United States reversed Hepburn v. Griswold . The Court held that making paper money legal tender through the Legal Tender Act did not conflict with Article One of the United States Constitution.Mrs...
and
Parker v. Davis in 1871, and then
Juilliard v. GreenmanJuilliard v. Greenman, 110 U.S. 421 , was a Supreme Court of the United States case in which issuance of greenbacks as legal tender was challenged in peacetime.The Legal Tender Acts of 1862 and 1863 were upheld....
in 1884.
The
Legal Tender Cases primarily involved the constitutionality of the Legal Tender Act of 1862 enacted during the Civil War. In
Hepburn,
Chief JusticeThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Salmon P. ChaseSalmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
held for a 4-3 majority of the Court that the Act was an unconstitutional violation of the Fifth Amendment. Ironically, Chief Justice Chase had played a role in formulating the Legal Tender Act of 1862, in his previous position as Secretary of the Treasury. On the same day that
Hepburn was decided, President Ulysses Grant nominated two new justices to the Court, Joseph Bradley and
William StrongWilliam Strong was an American jurist and politician. He was a justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.-Early life:...
, although Grant later denied that he had known about the decision in
Hepburn when the nominations were made. Bradley and Strong subsequently voted to reverse the
Hepburn decision, in
Knox v. Lee and
Parker v. Davis, by votes of 5-4. The constitutionality of the Act was more broadly upheld thirteen years later in
Juilliard v. Greenman
Legal Tender Act of 1862
The Legal Tender Act of 1862 was enacted to issue paper money to finance the Civil War without raising taxes. The paper money depreciated in terms of gold and became the subject of controversy, particularly because debts contracted earlier could be paid in this cheaper currency.