MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR May 28 – June 3

MAY 29

1998 – DEATH OF BARRY GOLDWATER, REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM ARIZONA

“The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people's money."

MAY 30

1908 – ALDRICH-VREELAND ACT SIGNED BY PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT

The Act established the National Monetary Commission recommending the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, creating the Federal Reserve System, the current private central bank (actually 12 banks to give the appearance of decentralization of economic power and control) of the US. The Aldrich-Vreeland Act was passed in response to the economic Panic of 1907 of bank failures. JP Morgan and other bankers who had been the target of Roosevelt’s trust busting efforts through more aggressive enforcement of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act manufactured the Panic. Through manipulating the stock market, calling in loans and not granting new ones, Morgan severely contracted the nation’s money supply. Thousands of banks were overextended. An economic crash followed. The Panic of ’07 was the pretext used to end the nation’s system of decentralized private banking by creating a system of centralized private banking – the Federal Reserve System.

JUNE 3

1864 – PASSAGE OF NATIONAL BANK ACT

This Act superseded the National Bank Act of 1863. Both Acts were pushed by bankers and their supporters to undercut Greenbacks. A system of nationally chartered, private/corporate banks was established and expanded. These new national banks were provided with virtually tax-free status and subsidized through purchasing of government bonds with discounted Greenbacks. These banks were permitted to then create “US Bank Notes” (debt-based money) which entered the money supply – to be used in payment of taxes and duties only. This system enriched banks and worked to wean the US away from Greenbacks (debt free money). The Act limited the issuance of Greenbacks to $300 million.

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com  For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Charles Peterson on Corporate Personhood

Here's something else inspirational. I've been in communication with Mr. Peterson. He is a City Councilperson in Oberlin and Associate Professor of Black Studies at the College of Wooster. This is what he said when voting in support of a Resolution to abolish corporate personhood and money equaling speech. The Resolution was adopted by Oberlin City Council in February.

"The movement to abolish the 'citizenship' status held by corporations is one of the unheralded battles of our historical moment. Under the guise of freedom of speech and the protections of the 14th Amendment, corporations have slowly expanded their control over not just the economic life of the nation but its political life as well. Recognized as having the same rights as individual citizens and the protections offered by the Constitution, Corporate 'citizenship' asserts its asymmetrical resources against the common holdings of the every day citizen. Corporate 'citizenship' brings to bear its extraordinary reach, biases and reserves against a political system whose integrity is only maintained by the access of those same common citizens. It is a cruel irony of history that the amendment to the constitution which guaranteed freedom, justice and democratic participation to 4 million former slaves turned citizens, would become the foundation for the degradation of freedom, justice and democratic participation for every US citizen. As both a private citizen and public official, I support a constitutional amendment that abolishes citizenship rights for corporations. As the Supreme Court''s decision on Citizen's United v. FEC demonstrates, this issue will determine whether government of the people, by the people and for the people, will endure."

One Inspriational Guy

Chris Gill, one of the convenors of Move to Amend Summit County, was rushed to the emergency room on Tuesday. He and Carol Wagner, were planning on petitioning tomorrow at the Kenmore parade Akron. When Carol visited him yesterday in the hospital, Chris told Carol that she needed to be at the parade to petition -- that ending corporate personhood and money equaling speech were extremely important. Please send positive thoughts Chris' way. And if you can, join us to circulate the Move to Amend petition tomorrow in Kenmore. Chris's commitment to addressing what lies at the very root of what is so wrong in our country politically is incredible! Details of event at http://www.facebook.com/events/435862166424885/

Money, Super PACs and Elections

Here are a few interesting facts from the current issue of Yes magazine on money in politics -- specifically the role played by the super PACs, a byproduct of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. A huge amount of money by a miniscule number of wealthy persons and corporations. And how exactly does this increase democracy?

Amount that super PACs backing the four main Republican candidates raised during January 2012: $27.2 million

Percentage that came from five large donors: 25

Percentage that spending on ads by outside groups has increased since January 2008: 1,281.8

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR May 21-27

MAY 23

1933 – ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT PRESENTED IN THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AGAINST THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD OF GOVERNORS , THE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS, THE US SECRETARY OF TREASURY AND OTHERS FOR THEIR COLLUSION IN CAUSING THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

The Articles of Impeachment were introduced by US Congressman Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee. McFadden stated,

"The Great Depression was not accidental, it was a carefull contrived occurrence… bankers sought to bring about a condition of despair here so that they might emerge as rulers of us all."

"We have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known.  I refer to the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Banks.  Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are U.S. government institutions.  They are private credit monopolies; domestic swindlers, rich and predatory money lenders which prey upon the poeple the United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers….The truth is the Federal Reserve Board has usurped the Government of the United States by the arrogant credit monopoly which operates the Federal Reserve Board."

MAY 24

1924 – DEATH OF CHARLES LINDBERGH, REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN (MN) AND FATHER OF FAMED AVIATOR

"This [Federal Reserve] Act establishes the most gigantic trust on earth.  When the president signs this bill, the invisible government by the monetary power will be legalized.  The people may not know it immediately but the day of reckoning is only a few years removed, the worst legislative crime of the ages perpetrated by this bank bill."

“The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people's money."

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com  For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR May 14 - 20

MAY 15

1915 – BIRTH OF PAUL SAMUELSON, ECONOMIST (FIRST AMERICAN TO WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR ECONOMICS)

“Few understand that all our money arises out of debt and IOU operations. The banking system as a whole can do what each small bank cannot do: it can expand its loans and investments many times the new reserves of cash created for it, even though each small bank is lending out only a fraction of its deposits.” Economics, An Introductory Analysis by Professor Paul A. Samuelson. (Best selling college economics textbook of all time, c1948.)

1931 – “QUADRAGESSIMO ANNO” LETTER ISSUED BY POPE PIUS XI

The Pope discusses the ethical implications of economic and social order in this letter, warning, of the dangers of unrestrained capitalism.

"Economic dictatorship is being most forcibly excercised by the few who hold the money and completely control it, control credit and the lending of money.  Hence they regulate the flow of the life-blood whereby the entire economic system lives, and have so firmly in their grasp the soul of economics that no one can breathe against their will."

MAY 16

1876 – SECOND GREENBACK NATIONAL CONVENTION OPENS IN INDIANAPOLIS

May 16–18, 1876 — Academy of Music, Indianapolis, Indiana. There were 239 delegates present from 17 states. Peter Cooper was nominated for President of the Greenback Party (calling for the creation of debt-free national money) with 352 votes to 119 for three other contenders.

1912 – PUJO COMMITTEE HEARINGS BEGIN

A special subcommittee of the House Banking and Currency Committee began hearings under its Chairman, Arsene P. Pujo. Its purpose was to investigate the powers of the nation’s "money trust.” Its final report, issued in 1913, concluded that the power over the nation’s money and credit was concentrated in  a small group of Wall Street bankers. The report created a climate for reform. Unfortunately one of the reform advocated for was the misnamed “Federal” Reserve Act which provided the appearance that finances would become a public function.

MAY 17

1787 – LAUNCH OF SHAY’S REBELLION 

A revolt of farmers in Western Massachusetts which spread to other states fueled by the rise of personal and public taxes and debt and the collapse of any legitimate federal currency.

1901 – FINANCIAL PANIC

The first stock market crash in the US. It was caused by large investors speculating on railroad stocks. Thousands of small investors were ruined.

1930 – BANK OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS ESTABLISHED

This is the central bank of all central banks, established as an international financial institution to "foster international monetary and financial cooperation.” Its headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland. The BIS serves to strengthen the international private banking system, not national economies. The BIS advocates the establishment of a global currency, building on the International Monetary Fund “Special Drawing Rights” – a quasi currency which has a value based on a basket of 4 major currencies (the dollar, euro, pound and yen).

2002 – TALK BY WILLIAM HUMMEL, AUTHOR, MONETARY RESEARCHER

"Banks are not ordinary intermediaries, like non-banks, they also borrow, but they do not lend the deposits they acquire. They lend by crediting the borrowers account with a new deposit… The accounts of other depositors remain intact and their deposits fully available for withdrawal.  Thus a bank loan increases the total of bank deposits, which means and increase in the money supply."

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com  For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html 

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR May 7 - 13

MAY 7

1873 – DEATH OF SALMON P. CHASE, US TREASURY SECRETARY

“My agency in procuring the passage of the National Bank Act was the greatest financial mistake of my life.  It has built up a monopoly that affects every interest in the country. It should be repealed.  But before this can be accomplished, the people will be arrayed on one side and the banks on the other in a contest such as we have never seen in this country."

Note: The National Bank Acts of 1863 was known originally as the National Currency Act and updated the following year. The Act established chartered national banks that could issue bank notes which were backed by the United States Treasury. These notes existed side by side to public “Greenbacks” (directly issued by the government). Bankers supported the Bank Acts as a means to eventually supplant Greenbacks and once more gain full control of the US money system.

MAY 10

1729 – PENNSYLVANIA PASSES A PAPER CURRENCY ACT

Pennsylvania was one of the first colonies to issue their own paper money to facilitate exchange to offset the lack of British pounds in circulation. By 1755, all 13 colonies had issued some form of colonial currency.

On colonial issued currency, Benjamin Franklin said,

"This effect of paper currency is not understood in England. And indeed the whole is a mystery to the politicians how we have been able to continue a war for four years without money and how we could pay with paper that had no previously fixed fund appropriated specifically to redeem it.  This currency...is a wonderful machine.  It performs its office when we issue it and when we are obliged to issue a quantity excessive, it pays itself off by depreciation."

1775 – CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ISSUES “CONTINENTALS”

The Continental Congress voted to issue $200 million in paper money, “continental currency” or “continentals”, to finance the American Revolution. The money was essential since British pounds were in short supply. The currency lost much of their value during the war due to the flooding of British counterfeit “continentals” as a means to destroy the colonial economy. Inflation was also due to continentals being used to fund war purchases rather than socially and economically useful goods and services. Nevertheless, the colonial currency served its purpose in allowing the colonies to economically and militarily resist and defeat the most powerful nation on earth.

1837 – US FINANCIAL PANIC

Banks limited credit and starting calling on debtors to repay. This igniting the Financial Panic of 1837.  Urban worker faced rising unemployement and food prices. A prolonged economic depression followed, including hundreds of bank failures. The economic depression that followed lasted nearly five years. This is the inevitable result of a debt-based money system – the lessons of which we never seem to learn.

1915 – BIRTH OF ROBERT HEMPHILL, CREDIT MANAGER, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA

If all the bank loans were paid, no one could have a bank deposit, and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com  For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html