Kirtland Safety Society was like a pretend bank that was started by a group of people a long time ago named after the place where they lived, Kirtland. They made their own money and gave it to people who wanted to borrow it. But because it was pretend, the government didn't like it and said it was illegal. So, people who had the fake money started to worry that they might not be able to use it anymore. Eventually, the whole thing failed and everyone lost their pretend money.