What do you do if you’re the U.S. government and you’re short on (don’t have enough) money? You just print it, of course.

During the U.S. Civil War (1861 to 1865), the federal (national) government was nearly broke (without any money). Before 1861, the U.S. did not have paper money as we know it today. Instead, people used government coins (metal money) or banknotes, which were pieces of paper issued by (produced by) banks as a promise to pay the person holding the banknote in “real” money – metal coins.

Historically, in most places government-issued paper money had always been backed by, or represented the value of, some amount of precious (valuable) metal, such as silver or gold. But since the government needed money to pay for things to fight the war, President Abraham Lincoln decided simply to print paper money even though the government did not have metal money to back it up. The paper money was instead backed by the trust one had in the U.S. government.

Not surprisingly, the value of this new paper money depended on just how much people trusted the U.S. government. When the war was going badly (not well) for Lincoln and the North, the value of the money declined (went down). When the North was winning, people trusted the government more and the value of these paper bills (pieces of paper money) increased.

The mastermind (person with the smart or clever plan) behind the printing of paper currency (money of a country) was Salmon P. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury, the part of the federal government responsible for the country’s money. Chase was also a very ambitious (wanting very much to succeed) politician. To give himself more attention, Chase put his own portrait (image of a person’s face and shoulders) on the United States’ first dollar bill (see photo), called “greenbacks.”

Chase’s greenbacks helped the government avoid financial ruin (complete destruction), but they had a major problem. Because they were produced quickly and weren’t well thought out (planned), it was easy to counterfeit (copy; produce fake versions). By the end of the Civil War in 1865, one in every three bills was fake (not real). At some points during the war, a dollar bill was only worth 34 cents due in part to counterfeiting (100 cents = 1 dollar), although the lack of a gold or silver standard (backing) contributed to this as well.

President Lincoln understood this problem. On April 14, 1865, he created the Secret Service to purge (eliminate completely; get rid of totally) the country of counterfeit bills. Ironically, it was later that same day that Lincoln was shot. The two events were not connected, however.

Today, the Secret Service is mainly known for protecting the president of the United States. But at the time President Lincoln created the Secret Service, it was all about money. It was only 36 years later that the Secret Service was assigned (given the job) to protect the president. By then, there had been two more presidential assassinations: President James Garfield in 1881 and President William McKinley in 1901.

Back to counterfeit money: The Secret Service knew it had an important job to do. If they didn’t stop counterfeiters, the country was in danger of hyper-inflation, which is when prices go up very quickly and people can buy less and less with the same amount of money. The Secret Service used a staff (group of workers) of 10 people, some of whom were reformed (no longer a criminal) counterfeiters themselves, to clean up (to remove the bad or fake) the United States’ currency. By 1869, the Secret Service had arrested over 200 counterfeiters and opened 11 offices across the country.

How much of the United States’ currency today is counterfeit?  Only one bill in 10,000 – or at least, that’s what the U.S. government says, if you trust them.

~ Jeff

Mara Abbott could see it.

The finish line. Her life dream. An Olympic victory. A gold medal.

Two hundred meters more and her dream would come true. Two hundred meters more and the Olympic gold medal would be hers.

Unlike many others, Abbott had survived the Rio Olympic cycling (bicycle riding) road race course (streets used for the race).

The course was one of the most difficult ever. A smooth, fast ride along Rio’s famous beaches took the riders to a series of small hills connected by cobblestone- (small round stones) covered roads so rough that riders’ water bottles flew out of the holders on their bikes. A return ride along Rio’s beaches took the riders to the big mountains, leg-killing ascents (going up) that took riders into the cloud-filled skies followed by dangerous, high-speed descents (going down) with turns that could easily throw a rider off the mountain. Riders who made it up and over the mountains had only a few fast, smooth kilometers to the finish line.

The course was perfect for Abbot. She is not a big, strong rider. She can’t ride as fast as many others. But she can climb. She may be one of the best climbers in the world of women’s cycling. And she had counted (depended) on her climbing ability to help her win Olympic gold. She believed that she had a good chance (possibility) to win if she were leading (in first place) at the top of the last mountain.

And she was. But shortly after beginning her final descent, another rider passed her and disappeared down the road.

Abbot descended as fast as she dared (felt she could safely ride). A few minutes later, while making a high-speed turn, Abbott saw the other rider on the ground at the side of the road. She had turned too fast, lost control of her bicycle, and crashed, breaking several bones in her back.

Abbot was in the lead again, alone. Her nearest competitors (other riders in the race) were 45 seconds behind her. She safely finished the descent and turned onto the final few kilometers of smooth road. The finish line, and her dream of Olympic gold, was in front of her.

As one writer wrote, “In cycling, one is often a condemned (impossible to succeed) number.” One rider cannot ride as fast as several riders working together. When several work together, one and then another pull (ride in front) and the others follow closely, hiding from the wind. It’s called drafting.

The three riders following Abbott began closing the gap (distance between) – 30 seconds . . . then 20  . . . 10. Abbott rode as fast as she could – riders call it “turning yourself inside out.” But the other three riders kept gaining (getting closer).

With 200 meters to go, the other three riders swept (went quickly) past and finished 1-2-3. Gold. Silver. Bronze.

Abbott finished fourth. No medal. Just a broken dream.

Abbott was heart-broken (very sad). But I was impressed by what she wrote a few days later:

“Would you rather have some excuse (reason to lose) . . . sick last week, got a flat tire . . .? Or, would you rather honestly know you had ridden a race to the very best of your strength and ability, know that there was nothing else you could have done and have that be . . . not . . . quite  . . .  enough?

Here is what actually matters more than a medal: “. . . creating a performance that was truly your best.”

~ Warren Ediger – ESL coach/tutor and creator of the Successful English website.

Photo of Mara Abbott from the Los Angeles Times

Are you unable to sleep at night because your conscience is bothering you? Your conscience is the feeling you get or the voice in your mind that tells you you’re doing wrong. If your conscience is bothering you, you’re feeling guilty (with a feeling of having done something wrong) about something.

Instead of taking sleeping pills, what you might need is the Conscience Fund. The Conscience Fund is an account (place to collect money) the United States Treasury Department (the government department in charge of the country’s money) created to accept gifts of money from people. The U.S. Treasury created this fund or account for people who have stolen money or have committed fraud (crime of cheating others out of money) against the U.S. government and have a guilty conscience. To make ourselves feel better, those who have committed fraud can donate or give money to the Conscience Fund without giving any details or identifying who they are.

The Conscience Fund first began in 1811 when the government received $5 from someone who said he had defrauded (cheated) the government. Since 1811, the fund has collected over $7 million, receiving about $200,000 a year. The money is put into the government’s general fund and used for general expenses (spending).

Most people send in money anonymously (without giving a name or revealing their identity). Some money is sent without any note at all, as in the case of a $155,000 gift from someone in 1990. But others have included a note to explain their transgression (wrong action; action against the rules or the law).

Most money received is in small amounts. For example, one person sent in money and included the note: “Please accept this money for two postal stamps I re-used.” Stamps are those small pieces of paper you purchase to be placed on letters and packages to be mailed. They’re intended to be used only once, but this person used two stamps twice.

Another person sent in this note with their money: “About eight years ago I took from a railroad station an item worth about $25 and this has been on my conscience since, so I’m enclosing $50 to clear my conscience.” To clear (one’s) conscience means to do something to correct something wrong one has done or to recognize one’s mistake so that one no longer feels guilty.

My favorite is this note from a person with a guilty conscience:  “‘Dear Internal Revenue Service*, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year’s income tax. Enclosed find a cashier’s check (a piece of paper that can be exchanged for cash, a way of sending money in the mail) for $1,000. If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the balance (the remaining money; the rest of the money).'” It’s not clear whether this guilty person ever sent in the rest of his or her ill-gotten gains (money earned by cheating or through crime) or if this confession (statement of having broken the rules or committed a crime) was enough to allow for a good night of sleep.

The Conscience Fund is an indication that, as a nation, we value honesty (being truthful). But the relatively (fairly) small amount it collects each year suggests that we are either a nation of very honest people or very dishonest people.

~ Lucy

* Internal Revenue Service = the U.S. government department that collects taxes