Write biography living person on us currency

ByChandler Stark

Though it might sound strange, paper money has been a part of American history since before the United States was even conceived.

The earliest official money in what would become the U.S. dates back to the late 17th century, when colonial governments first began issuing paper currency. Then in 1775, during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress issued Continental Currency nationally to help raise money.

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It was not until 1861 that the more familiar green paper money, originally known as "greenbacks," came into vogue.

The wartime Congress of the Civil War created them to finance the Union armies and government, and they were officially called Demand Notes. Congress replaced them in 1862 with Legal Tender notes. Traditionally, the government has put former presidents on currency — $10 Demand Notes issued in 1861 had President Abraham Lincoln's picture on them – but that'