Thomas Jefferson Quotes
Experience has proved to us that a dollar of silver disappears for every dollar of paper emitted.
The same argument can be made against the modern paper money supply. What Jefferson and most of the founding fathers, with the exception of Alexander Hamilton. did not realize was that the major stability of any kind of money was not only the silver or gold that backed it but the political and legal stability of the nation and the size of its productive economy. Where Jefferson was right however is that all these banknotes at the time were issued by local private banks. The Government had no responsibility for paper money and had no knowledge of how much paper money any bank issues and whether or not they had any silver to back it up. Banks didn’t trust other bank’s notes and would only redeem them at a discount. A $10 note from a South Carolina bank might only be worth $7 in New York and $6 in Boston. The early American monetary system was a mess.
Most of the Founding Fathers would be scandalized by the banking and finance system we have in modern times. There is not a single bank in the nation that would meet Adams’ criteria for not being a “cheat.” See {615649} for a similar view and {630666} for another quote by Adams regarding banks. Interestingly, Adams was a very conservative politician and generally supported the establishment, but banks at that time were not thought of as part of the establishment. They had a somewhat unwholesome reputation at best.
What Franklin Delano Roosevelt began, President Nixon would in 1971 complete by removing America from the gold standard entirely and ending fixed rates of exchange. There have been those in government who did not understand the modern economics of money and who believed that currency had to have a fixed rate of exchange for gold or silver otherwise it was worthless. Roosevelt had to deal with them as did Nixon later. Even into the 21st century when it had been amply demonstrated that the best currency in the world was the United States dollar precisely because it was backed up by the full faith and credit of the United States Government, there were those who complain that United States money is not sound currency and argue for the return of the gold standard.
Economists they world over have differed as to how critical it was to have a money supply that is based on a gold standard or other precious metal. United States history has had a dispute over whether the money should be backed by gold or silver. Finally, under the Richard M. Nixon administration, the United States went off the gold standard and American money ever since is only backed by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the United States. Some politicians like Paul believe this is a poor policy since it allows governments to control their own money supply irrespective of their gold or silver holdings. Paul goes further than most and sees freedom itself dependent on a precious metal standard. Most politicians disagree.
There actually are restraints on how much paper money a government will issue, but unlike with a gold standard where the restraint is external and controlled by how much gold the country can amass. However, with paper money the restraints area all internal. If too much money is printed, the value of the money relative to gold, silver and other nation’s money will go down and imports will become more expensive. Excessive printing of money can easily produce inflation. However, the internal restraints can be overcome by the government’s need to raise money for war, debt or other purposes. So Paul and many other politicians have a deep distrust of paper money not backed by Gold or Silver. In the United States however, the Government does not control the money supply or the printing policies of money. This is under the control of the Federal Reserve Board which while appointed by President’s as terms expire, have a great deal of independence both from the Executive and Legislative Branches. For that reason Paul is even more distrustful when the Federal Reserve decides to print money. See {629491} for his unsuccessful effort to abolish the Federal Reserve Bank.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.
