The act also introduced the United States' first progressive tax with the intent of raising millions of dollars for the Union.
[3] Deteriorating economic conditions of the years before the war made the production of those notes cease, and they were officially declared unredeemable.
He was initially opposed to the notion of internal taxes, and believed that the better way to raise revenue was through the selling of war bonds.
[1] The majority of these sales occurred during the later stages of the war, and the Union needed an immediate method of raising funds.
[3] Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861 as an initial attempt to raise much-needed funds for the war.
By 1862 the United States government realized that the war would not end quickly and the revenue from the income tax would be insufficient.
"[6] The first section of the act established "an office… in the Treasury Department to be called the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
"[7] This commissioner, selected by the President of the United States, was in charge of preparing and distributing all the instructions, regulations, directions, forms, and licenses "pertaining to the assessment and collection of the duties, stamp duties, licenses, and taxes, which may be necessary to carry this act into effect.