NJ, USA
Continental Currency Collapse
March 1, 1780
By early 1780, Continental currency had depreciated to the point that it took approximately $40 in paper to equal $1 in coin, a ratio that would worsen to $100-to-$1 by year's end. The currency collapse was felt acutely at Morristown, where the army could not purchase supplies from local farmers who had no use for paper money that was losing value by the day. The phrase "not worth a Continental" entered the American lexicon during this period. The crisis forced Washington to rely on forced requisitions and highlighted the fundamental weakness of the Continental government's fiscal structure.
People Involved
Continental Army major general (1742-1786) who served as quartermaster general during the Morristown winter encampments and later commanded the Southern Department.
Washington's chief aide-de-camp during both Morristown encampments, Hamilton managed correspondence, gathered intelligence, and grew increasingly frustrated with the weak central government that left the army starving.
Virginia planter and Continental Army commander-in-chief who owned and managed Mount Vernon's enslaved workforce. Absent from his estate for most of the war, he directed Lund Washington's management by correspondence and returned to find the plantation's human community shaped by eight years of wartime disruption.
Joined Washington at Morristown during both winter encampments, managing the headquarters household, organizing sewing circles to produce clothing for soldiers, and hosting events to maintain officer morale.