The Greenback Party was a newcomer to politics in 1880, having first nominated candidates for national office four years earlier.
The party had arisen, mostly in the West and South, as a response to the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1873.
During the Civil War, Congress had authorized "greenbacks", a new form of fiat money that was redeemable not in gold but in government bonds.
The greenbacks had helped to finance the war when the government's gold supply did not keep pace with the expanding costs of maintaining the armies.
When the crisis had passed, many in both the Democratic and Republican parties, especially in the East, wanted to return the nation's currency to a gold standard as soon as possible (candidates who favored the gold-backed currency were called "hard money" supporters, while the policy of encouraging inflation was known as "soft money").
The Specie Payment Resumption Act, passed in 1875, ordered that greenbacks be gradually withdrawn and replaced with gold-backed currency, beginning in 1879.
At the same time, economic depression had made it more expensive for debtors to pay debts they had contracted when currency was less valuable.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans offered a home to those who favored retaining greenbacks, so many looked to create a third party that would address their concerns.
Greenbackers drew support from the growing labor movement in the nation's Eastern cities, as well as from Western and Southern farmers who had been harmed by deflation.
Beyond their support for a larger money supply, they also favored an eight-hour work day, safety regulations in factories, and an end to child labor.
As one author put it, they "anticipated by almost fifty years the progressive legislation of the first quarter of the twentieth century".

In 1876, various independent delegates gathered in Indianapolis to nominate a presidential ticket to campaign on those issues.
For president, they chose Peter Cooper, an 85-year-old industrialist and philanthropist from New York, with Samuel Fenton Cary, a former congressman from Ohio, as his running mate.
The Greenback ticket fared poorly in the election that November, attracting just 81,740 votes—less than 1% of the total.
As bad economic times continued, however, the party gained momentum.
Labor unrest the following year, culminating in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, added to many laborers' alienation from the two major parties.
Local movements, like California's Workingmen's Party, began to agitate for laws to improve the condition of laborers (and for an end to Chinese immigration).
By 1878, the third-party movement had become strong enough to elect 22 independents to the federal House of Representatives, most tied in some way to the Greenback movement.
As the 1880 presidential election approached, members of the Greenback Party (or Greenback-Labor Party, as it was sometimes known) had reason to believe that they could improve on the results of 1876.
The Greenback Party was a newcomer to politics in 1880, having first nominated candidates for national office four years earlier. The party had arisen, mostly in the West and South, as a response to the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1873. During the Civil War, Congress had authorized "greenbacks", a new form of fiat money that was redeemable not in gold but in government bonds. The greenbacks had helped to finance the war when the government's gold supply did not keep pace with the expanding costs of maintaining the armies. When the crisis had passed, many in both the Democratic and Republican parties, especially in the East, wanted to return the nation's currency to a gold standard as soon as possible (candidates who favored the gold-backed currency were called "hard money" supporters, while the policy of encouraging inflation was known as "soft money"). The Specie Payment Resumption Act, passed in 1875, ordered that greenbacks be gradually withdrawn and replaced with gold-backed currency, beginning in 1879. At the same time, economic depression had made it more expensive for debtors to pay debts they had contracted when currency was less valuable. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans offered a home to those who favored retaining greenbacks, so many looked to create a third party that would address their concerns. Greenbackers drew support from the growing labor movement in the nation's Eastern cities, as well as from Western and Southern farmers who had been harmed by deflation. Beyond their support for a larger money supply, they also favored an eight-hour work day, safety regulations in factories, and an end to child labor. As one author put it, they "anticipated by almost fifty years the progressive legislation of the first quarter of the twentieth century".
In 1876, various independent delegates gathered in Indianapolis to nominate a presidential ticket to campaign on those issues. For president, they chose Peter Cooper, an 85-year-old industrialist and philanthropist from New York, with Samuel Fenton Cary, a former congressman from Ohio, as his running mate. The Greenback ticket fared poorly in the election that November, attracting just 81,740 votes—less than 1% of the total. As bad economic times continued, however, the party gained momentum. Labor unrest the following year, culminating in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, added to many laborers' alienation from the two major parties. Local movements, like California's Workingmen's Party, began to agitate for laws to improve the condition of laborers (and for an end to Chinese immigration). By 1878, the third-party movement had become strong enough to elect 22 independents to the federal House of Representatives, most tied in some way to the Greenback movement. As the 1880 presidential election approached, members of the Greenback Party (or Greenback-Labor Party, as it was sometimes known) had reason to believe that they could improve on the results of 1876.
1880 Greenback National Convention