Just did a quick search online about Lincoln, and there are a lot of various articles available, here is one of them that came up: seems he tried a similar thing I had read in the past that JFK tried when he was president, here is an interesting quote from an online article:
"Abraham Lincoln
During the Civil War (1861-1865), President Lincoln needed money to finance the War from the North. The Bankers were going to charge him 24% to 36% interest. Lincoln was horrified and went away greatly distressed, for he was a man of principle and would not think of plunging his beloved country into a debt that the country would find impossible to pay back.
Eventually President Lincoln was advised to get Congress to pass a law authorizing the printing of full legal tender Treasury notes to pay for the War effort. Lincoln recognized the great benefits of this issue. At one point he wrote:
“... (we) gave the people of this Republic the greatest blessing they have ever had – their own paper money to pay their own debts...”
The Treasury notes were printed with green ink on the back, so the people called them “Greenbacks”.
Lincoln printed 400 million dollars worth of Greenbacks (the exact amount being $449,338,902), money that he delegated to be created, a debt-free and interest-free money to finance the War. It served as legal tender for all debts, public and private. He printed it, paid it to the soldiers, to the U.S. Civil Service employees, and bought supplies for war.
Shortly after that happened, “The London Times” printed the following: “If that mischievous financial policy, which had its origin in the North American Republic, should become indurated down to a fixture, then that Government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off debts and be without a debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous beyond precedent in the history of the civilized governments of the world. The brains and the wealth of all coun!tries will go to North America. That govern!ment must be destroyed, or it will destroy every monarchy on the globe.”
The Bankers obviously understood. The only thing, I repeat, the only thing that is a threat to their power is sovereign govern!ments printing interest-free and debt-free paper money. They know it would break the power of the international Bankers."
(end of quote)