FRANCIS ELIAS SPINNER
During the Civil War, the government produced paper money for the first time. The clerks in the Treasury had to cut the printed money to size and separate the several bills on a sheet. However, with more work and men needed for the war effort, Spinner came up with the good idea of using women as Treasury Department Clerks. Chase, one of Lincoln’s rivals for the Presidency, was the Secretary of the Treasury and although not enthused allowed Spinner to allow some women into the Federal Workforce. See {629786} for one reaction.
Francis Elias Spinner was an American politician from New York. He served as Treasurer of the United States from 1861 to 1875, and was the first administrator in the federal government to employ women for clerical jobs.
