Essay on Inflation and Absolute Power

The Bank of the United States was designed to make money and build an economy. It was designed by men like Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris, but did not benefit the common citizen as much as wealthy investors. Why did a fledgling government need to borrow millions from overseas in order to invest in a “national” bank, to turn around and then borrow the same money back and pay interest on it? The banking system developed by Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris was prime pickings for speculators, and laid the groundwork for a history of unscrupulous activity regarding our nation’s money supply that continues to this day. The signatures on the Constitution were barely dry before corruption and

Faced with this economic decline, came other factors that included unemployment and lack of confidence in banks (Church 100). Restoring faith in banks across the United States was one goal for FDR. As depositors lost confidence in the national bank, over $1,000,000,000 was taken out in cash and hoarded (Boardman 64). The Emergency Banking Act closed all banks for four straight days, and put them under inspection by the national government (Schraff 52). Banks were put under meticulous scrutiny by the Treasury Department. The U.S. government demanded that all hoarded gold be returned and all of the $1,000,000,000 was deposited (Boardman 65). Banks were allowed to open only under a strict system of licensing (Schraff 52). Another banking program was The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, which was created by Congress to guarantee deposits up to $5000 (Gupta). In the case

He believed that the Bank has to be abolished due to several reasons. First of all, the bank concentrated the nation's wealth in a single institution which created an unhealthy for the economy monopoly. Second of all, he believed that the bank favored the wealthy over the common people. The third reason was that the bank had too much control over members of Congress. In other words, the subsidy of the bank to one particular party or the lack of the finance could influence the results of the elections at some point. And the bank also favored northeastern states over southern and western states. Thus, Jackson succeeded in destroying the Bank by vetoing its 1832 re-charter by Congress and by withdrawing U.S. funds in 1833. This action led to federal money being put into state banks who then loaned it out freely leading to inflation. State banks were issuing paper banknotes that were not backed by gold or silver reserves which led to rapid inflation. Moreover, the expansion of credit and speculation took place. As a result, state banks collapsed which was a cause of the Panic of 1837. However, despite the crisis and depression, the liquidation of the Bank was an achievement of Jackson’s presidency and led to trivial of the economy later on.

It was all because the national government couldn’t enforce anything and just had to do what was requested of them with the little material they were given. To see the mess that the Articles of Confederation brought to the country, I 'll give an example. The state government would enforce the national government to print money during the revolutionary war to meet the demands of the war. But due to the debt that the United States were in during the Revolutionary War, the overprinting of money had no money value to back it up, which therefore made it worthless by the time the end of the war rolled around. While the national government asked for the state governments to raise their taxes to recover from the war and bring the currency up to be worth something, the national government wasn 't allowed to tax the states and were only able to request that each state pays their fair share. But by the national government not being able to enforce the taxes to be paid by the states is what led to horrible inflation. Because the states didn 't want to pay taxes and thought that they could do without a national currency, they each created their own currency which too added to the inflation. Inflation was something that occurred with the currency when the value of the money was decreased, which later on led to the increase of prices, which meant that you needed more money to be able to buy something. When each state started printing their own money they ran into issues and

Even before the creation of the Federal Reserve, banks were used by the public just as we use them today. Deposits were made into savings accounts. Loans were taken out to mortgage a home or finance a new business. Banknotes were issued and spent when the public borrowed from the banks. Borrowers spent these banknotes just as paper money is spent today. These bank notes were valued as money since they were backed by the promise that they would be exchanged on demand for either gold or silver.

The bank provided credit to growing enterprises, issued bank notes which served as a dependable medium of exchange throughout the country, and it exercised a restraining effect on the less well manages state banks. Nicholas Biddle, who ran the Bank, tried to put the institution on a sound and prosperous basis. But Andrew Jackson was always determined to destroy it (Brinkley, 249). The Bank had two opposition groups: the “soft-money” faction and the “hard-money” faction. Soft money advocates objected to the Bank of the United States because it restrained the state banks from issuing notes freely. Hard money advocates believed that coin was the only safe currency, and they condemned all banks that issued bank notes.

Secondly, out of the twenty-five stockholders of the Bank, five of these were government owned. Thus showing support of the Bank by subscribing to one-fifth of its $35 million (Schlesinger 74). In addition, among the Bank’s functions was to hold all government money, sell all government bonds, and make commercial loans. However, no voters could dictate its policies or reign in its power, due to its privately owned status (Roughshod 2). Finally, the government also allowed bank notes to be used as payment for taxes.

Historians believe that it was Jackson 's policies that lead to the inflationary boom and the Panic of 1837, which suspended the convertibility of paper money into specie. Historians point the finger to three of Jackson 's policies. The first was Jackson 's veto of a bill to recharter the second Bank of the United States, in 1832. The federal reserves of the Bank of the United States were distributed to the state-chartered banks that were favored by Jackson. Historians believe that this led to the reserve ratio being reduced because there was no central bank regulating the banks. This led to an increase in the money supply and inflation (Sylla). The second policy was the Deposit Act of 1836, which was the distribution of the surplus in paper money to the states, after the National Debt was paid (Sylla, Rothbard 99). This extra money caused an increase in spending by the states (Rothbard 100). The last policy led to the Panic of 1837; the Specie

The economy was in disarray, the states had imposed tariffs on products from other states, paper money was virtually worthless in some states, and Congress was having trouble raising money due to a recession (Edwards, page 44). The Founders believed that the American economy was in shambles and sought to strength economic powers of the new government, thus affecting the structure of government. The Founders made sure that the Constitution clearly spelled out the economic powers of Congress. Congress was to be the chief economic policymaker, and could obtain revenues by taxing and borrowing. Congress was to encourage economic enterprise and investment, and had the power to build the nation’s infrastructure by constructing post offices and roads and establishing standard weights and measures. Congress was also charged with punishing counterfeiters and pirates, ensuring patents and copyrights, and legislating rules for bankruptcy. Congress’s new ability to regulate interstate and foreign commerce was a key congressional power. Economic concerns affected the structure of government and the Constitution granted Congress the power to create the conditions within which markets could flourish. These conditions prohibited practices in the states that they viewed as inhibiting economic development. The

After the Civil War started, another need for a national bank emerged. The government wanted to learn from the mistakes of the first and second banks, so they developed the National Bank in 1869, which was modeled after the free banking system. This system allowed banks to choose between state and national charters. Though the bank was transformed into another bank in 1913, this was the United States first success at a uniform currency. Finally in 1913, the Federal Reserve was established. The architects of the federal reserve learned from the mistakes from the previous banks so that they could make this bank a success. This new federal reserve bank was given control over the nation’s payment system. The federal reserve was broken up into 12 District Banks that operated independently, so that there was not a concentration of power. Though not the original role of the Federal Reserve, today it is best known for the monetary policy. Today the federal reserve is run by the Board of Governors,which are seven members that are appointed by the President and are approved by the Senate. The Federal Reserve is composed of the Board of Governors, and twelve district

This brings us to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is a private entity that is not connected or governed by the United States. It came into existence in 1913 by the Federal Reserve act. Many people believed are still believe it is a part of our government. Sadly, they are greatly mistaken. It originated from Jekyll Island are very wealthy people gathered to create it for their own selfish and personal gain from which only they controlled. The founding fathers stated clearly in the Constitution that there should never be a central bank and that gold and silver should be legal tender. The Federal Reserve act single-handedly broke this law with the issuance of paper currency. The main consensus would be that the American people would now be able to store their gold and silver or “wealth” “safely” inside these banks behind both doors for a small fee. In return they would be given paper notes correlating with the amount of gold or silver they deposited in the bank. If they were to spend these notes at a merchant 's store the marching could then decide to go to the bank and deposit the notes for the equivalent in gold or silver. It was such a great system that other countries decided to trust it and store their gold in US banks. In return they also got US dollars. Seems like a pretty solid monetary system right? Well it was for a while, until certain people started to become greedy. The people with control and power took advantage of the system. Think

“The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered. ” (3) Jefferson knows that a national bank that printed its own money backed by coin is the only answer.

After the Revolutionary War, many of the country’s citizens were in great debit and there was widespread economic disruption. The country was in need of an economic overhaul and the new country’s leaders would need to decide how to do this to ensure the new country did not fall apart. After two unsuccessful attempts at a national banking system, the Federal Reserve System was created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Since its inception, the Federal Reserve System has evolved into a central banking system that grows with the country. The Federal Reserve System provides this country with a central bank that is able to pursue consistent monetary policies. My goal in this paper is to help the reader to understand why the Federal

Inflation is the sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services in a county, and is measured as an annual percentage change. (Investopedia) During periods of inflation, the prices of products and services will rise. There are several reasons why an economy would see a rise in inflation. Decrease in supplies, corporate deciding to charge more, and consumer confidence are some of the reasons why an economy would see the inflation rate increase. Consumer confidence is when consumers gain more confidence in spending due to a low unemployment rate and wages being stable. Decrease in supplies is when consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service is that is slowly becoming unavailable due to a decrease in supplies. Corporate decisions are when the corporations basically decide

Banks can easily manipulate the people. Individuals need to put in mind that when their money are in banks, the money is automatically controlled by the banks and obviously that money is not theirs at that point. Banks have the right to do whatever they want to do with the money without asking one’s opinion and there are some of the time when “the bank may be unwilling or unable to return [back the] money” when someone is in need (Burnham). Other may said that most banks are regulated by the government illegally, so it is impossible for banks to manipulate people. Well is true, however, in the past banks hurt people through manipulation. For example, housing crisis, cars, and other materials. This is why eliminating the use of cash is not a great idea it is going to help the government and hurt the people. As a result of that, people should think twice and come back to their sinces when making a