The party's name referred to the non-gold backed paper money, commonly known as "greenbacks," that had been issued by the North during the American Civil War and shortly afterward. The party opposed the deflationary lowering of prices paid to producers that was entailed by a return to a bullion-based monetary system, the policy favored by the Republican and Democratic Parties. Continued use of unbacked currency, it was believed, would better foster business and assist farmers by raising prices and making debts easier to pay.