Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Founding Fathers and Their Stance on Central Banking

     One of the most controversial institutions of our time is the Federal Reserve and its Constitutionality.  Many argue that there is no place for such a powerful concentration of power anywhere in the Constitution and that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they knew of its establishment.  Is this in fact true?  Were the champions of liberty adverse to a source of credit, taxation, and means to economic growth that helped England rule an empire upon which 'the sun never sets'?  A look will be taken a the main players in the formation of this nation and what their true feelings were on the matter.
     First we will look at Jefferson.  Jefferson was a champion of the Republican ideal, fearing government and big business.  He was not a combatant in the revolution, so his idea of nationhood was tied to his home of Virginia and states rights.  He saw the rise of the central bank as robbing the average person and was noted as stating that fiat currency was creating nothing from nothing...Thus he was not a supporter of the first Bank of the United States in the 18th century.
     Next we will address my favorite, John Adams, and his opinion on the matter.  John Adams was also a staunch enemy of the new central bank.  He viewed this form of paper currency as a form of swindling the average citizen when not backed by gold or silver.
    Another founding father, James Madison, parted ways with his long time friend Hamilton and became a virtual enemy over the idea of a central bank...falling in line with Jefferson and Adams.
     Alexander Hamilton is the focal point of this paper as he had a vision of a nation and not just states.  He was born in the West Indies and quickly rose in the ranks as George Washingtons aide.  Although Adams hilariously called him, 'The bastard brat of a scotch peddler', Hamilton is widely considered as the father of American finance.  He saw the success of the English, and the Bank of England, and their ability to conquer the globe with their innovative finance system, and wanted to model the American system as such.  Hamilton, not being aligned to any state due to his birth, had a national viewpoint.  As a Wall Street lawyer he often became irritated trying to explain modern finance to what he referred to as 'country bumpkins' (according to Gordon Wood).  Jefferson and Adams didn't understand finance and when Hamilton was made Secretary of the Treasury the Congress ended the 'Way and Means Committee' in favor of Hamiltons knowledge on finance.
     Lastly, we will address George Washington's feelings on the subject.  Washington, along with Hamilton, were the only Founding Fathers to serve in the military and thus had a national, and not a statehood, view of the United States.  When Jefferson offered his view of the unconstitutionality of the central bank Washington asked Hamilton to offer a rebuttal.  In one of the most historic American documents Hamilton argued in favor of a central bank...and Washington agreed and signed the bank into law.
     So in conclusion, we must accept now, as they did then, that there was no consensus on a central bank, and in fact they were quite divided on the subject.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Thank you William H McNeill, Gordon Wood, and other historians for their research and effort on the subject.
    
     

Thursday, February 26, 2015

UN Resolution 16/18

YOU MUST READ THIS! There was a little known resolution passed by the United Nations in 2011 that was proposed by the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries). It was agenda/resolution 16/18. Hilary Clinton advised the UN to bring the resolution to the United States so that they could slowly strengthen their muscle to eventually implement it here. The resolution is a direct attack on our religious freedom and 1st Amendment rights. It would make it a world wide crime to say anything disparaging against any religion. Remember this was put forth by the 57 Islamic members of the United Nations in a direct effort to ban any slander of the prophet Mohammed. The Bible referring to the choice of the mark of the beast or having your head cut off seems a little more realistic with the rise of ISIS and the spread of the plague that is Islam!

ISIS IS ISLAM

More Christians have been abducted by ISIS, they're destroying historic sites, and kidnapping young girls and selling them to other muslims. Obama still won't say they're muslim terrorist...It's time to go in and wipe their evil from the earth, or we will end up with World War III when the cancer spreads to other parts of the Sunni world. I think that is where it is headed because Islam is evil at its heart. Mohammed was a murder, pedophile, and deceiver. We must pray for the Muslims, but not turn our back on our duty to defend Christian, Jewish, and innocent Muslims that are being slaughtered.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Thomas Paine: The Forgotten Founding Father

Image result for thomas paine     Thomas Paine, 'That filthy little atheist' according to Theodore Roosevelt, is not often associated with the other Founding Fathers such as Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Adams, but should he be?  Paine is an intriguing figure that this author can relate to at times.  He wrote and communicated with a passion that bordered, and often crossed over into, anger about the political state of world affairs.  Differing from other 18th century leaders, Paine was not concerned with his image, or how others viewed him.  His bold an daring writing challenged the established power and cultural structure of America and Europe.  He is most famously known for his pamphlet Common Sense, which according to Gordon Wood, is the most influential and best piece of literature pinned in the English language.  But who was Thomas Paine?
     He spent almost the entire first four decades of his life living in England doing jobs ranging from tax collecting to preaching.  Paine had not achieved anything of merit during this period of his life.  After careful thought, this author believes one event changed Paine's life forever.  The death of his wife and child during child birth.  This event scarred Paine and influenced his relationships with women for the rest of his life.  It is after this event that Paine began to pursue a life of challenging the status quo.  First, by attempting to attain raises for other tax collectors, which led to him being dismissed from his position according to Wood.  He soon moved to America where he began work on Common Sense, which changed American thought forever.  This pamphlet became the most read piece of literature of the 18th century and brought Paine into contact with such figures as Washington and Jefferson.  Although he was respected for his thoughts and writing, he was never truly accepted as a gentleman and was often described as a drunkard.  Paine never truly felt respected for his work and seemed to want to incite debate on any established beliefs.  This was his downfall in America, when he chose to attack Christianity as one of the worst things to ever happen to man.  This earned him the title of atheist, even though in fact he was a deist like Jefferson and Washington.  Sensing the coming trouble in France, Paine traveled to Europe to participate in the revolution.  This revolution would turnout to be very different from the American version, and would eventually land Paine in jail.  He returned to America a miserable and unhappy man and died several years after returning.
Image result for thomas paine     It is the opinion of this author that Paine was a broken man after the death of his wife and child.  It seems as if this tragedy sparked an anger for everything and anything that was in 'control'.  If it be God or government, he was determined to change things by his own will.  There seems to be an inner conflict that he fights and then writes in a cathartic way, because even though he would defame Christianity, after the death of his wife he actually spent time as a preacher.  Paine was a broken man, prone to drink and anger, gifted in writing, and someone never able to find peace in his life.  His sad existence and his blatant honesty of thought is probably why we don't place him among his peers.  

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

I would like to give credit to Pulitzer prize winner Gordon Wood and other historical sources for the information provided.