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The boom in
urban living sparked by the industrial revolution brought with it new ways to
get around cities, including the electric streetcar and the cable car. Similarly,
currency evolved with the introduction of the first true national currency.
In 1862, Congress issued $150 million in Legal Tender notes. President Abraham
Lincoln passed the National Bank Act in 1863, which established a national banking
system and a uniform national currency to be issued by new national banks.