During the Gilded Age , Cooper became an ardent critic of the gold standard and the debt-based monetary system of bank currency , advocating instead for government-issued banknotes . Cooper was nominated for president at the 1876 Greenback National Convention , and the Greenback ticket of Cooper and Samuel Fenton Cary won just under one percent of the popular vote in the 1876 general election . His son , Edward Cooper , and his son-in-law , Abram Hewitt , both served as Mayor of New York City
1876 Greenback National Convention
1876 Greenback National Convention
Peter Cooper