Complex sentence: He believed that the government should print paper money, ie greenbacks, in order to finance public works projects, an idea ridiculed by the majority of the time, but would have been praised during the middle of the New Deal era.
Split into simpler sentences: He believed that the government should print paper money, ie greenbacks, in order to finance public works projects. This idea was greated with ridicule for the most part, but would have been praised by those of the New Deal era.