Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states, "The Congress shall have power... to coin money, regulate the value thereof... "
Adam Smith:
There is not a negro from the coast of Africa who does not, in this respect, possess a degree of magnanimity which the soul of his sordid master is too often scarce capable of conceiving. Fortune never exerted more cruelly her empire over mankind, than when she subjected those nations of heroes to the refuse of the jails of Europe, to wretches who possess the virtues neither of the countries which they come from, nor of those which they go to, and whose levity, brutality, and baseness, so justly expose them to the contempt of the vanquished.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. V.I.19
Regard to our own private happiness and interest, too, appear upon many occasions very laudable principles of action.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. VII.II.87
The natural course of things cannot be entirely controlled by the impotent endeavours of man: the current is too rapid and too strong for him to stop it; and though the rules which direct it appear to have been established for the wisest and best purposes, they sometimes produce effects which shock all his natural sentiments.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. III.I.109
One who is master of all his exercises has no aversion to measure his strength and activity with the strongest.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. VII.II.27
Men of no more than ordinary discernment never rate any person higher than he appears to rate himself.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. VI.III.487
No benevolent man ever lost altogether the fruits of his benevolence. If he does not always gather them from the persons from whom he ought to have gathered them, he seldom fails to gather them, and with a tenfold increase, from other people. Kindness is the parent of kindness; and if to be beloved by our brethren be the great object of our ambition, the surest way of obtaining it is, by our conduct to show that we really love them.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. VI.II.22
Before we can feel much for others, we must in some measure be at ease ourselves. If our own misery pinches us very severely, we have no leisure to attend to that of our neighbour: and all savages are too much occupied with their own wants and necessities, to give much attention to those of another person.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments par. V.I.19
"I deny the power of the general government to making paper money, or anything else a legal tender."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The terms 'lawful money' and 'lawful money of the United States' shall be construed to mean gold or silver coin of the United States." (12 USC 152)
"Legal tender is quite different from lawful money. In no U.S. law are Federal Reserve notes declared to be "lawful money." Lawful money is that money described in the Coinage Act of 1792 and in Article I, section 10 of the U.S. Constitution: gold and silver... the only money the Supreme Law of the Land allows states to make legal tender."
-- Tupper Saussy, 1980
"It is apparent from the whole context of the Constitution as well as the history of the times which gave birth to it, that it was the purpose of the Convention to establish a currency consisting of the precious metals. These were adopted by a permanent rule excluding the use of a perishable medium of exchange, such as of certain agricultural commodities recognized by the statutes of some States as tender for debts, or the still more pernicious expedient of paper currency."
-- Andrew Jackson, 1836
The Biggest Con: How the Government is Fleecing You by Irwin A. Schiff. According to Schiff, "U.S. politicians, contrary to the Constitution and the U.S. criminal code, have conned all citizens out of their money savings. This monetary swindle was perpetuated despite a reasonably literate electorate, despite our well-developed financial and banking institutions, and despite our many institutions of higher learning and the nation's extensive network of information media."
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