A History of Currency in the United States

Hepburn seeks to cover all essential facts concerning currency, coinage, and banking, from the Colonial period to the development of the United States Federal Reserve Banks. Within this broad topic, Hepburn provides an historical account of the monetary system during the Civil War. He examines paper currency, the coinage system, legal tender notes, and the development of the National Banking system separately and in-depth. Alonzo Barton Hepburn (1846-1922) was a legislator and banker. He served (1875-80) in the New York state legislature and became chairman of the legislative committee to investigate railroad rate discrimination. The published proceedings of this committee - popularly called the Hepburn Report - strongly influenced subsequent corrective legislation and helped bring about the adoption in 1887 of the federal Interstate Commerce Act. Later Hepburn devoted himself to banking and to government fiscal administration, becoming President of Chase National Bank and having a major role in the creation of the Federal Reserve System.