WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
LEGAL TENDER
Profile America — Wednesday, February 25th. Paper money has circulated in North America since 1690, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony issued some to paper over — so to speak — the shortage of coins. But these were just promissory notes from governing bodies. That changed on this date in 1862 when Congress passed the Legal Tender Act, fixing paper money as a means of paying the government's considerable Civil War bills with something other than gold or silver. One result was that greenbacks became a means of exchange for all private transactions. Currently, there is over $1.3 trillion in cash circulating the country and the world. A good portion passes through America's roughly 116 million households, which earn a median annual income of just over $53,000. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, p. 841
Currency in circulation: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CURRCIR
Legal Tender Act: http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/online/exhibition-archives/congress-and-the-civil-war/general-welfare/from-gold-to-greenbacks/3270-hr-240-legal-tender-act-february-25-1862.html
Households and earnings: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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