Common, Since 1776

Common, Since

1776

TO THE CITIZENS OF AMERICA

on the following subjects of interest:

Table of Contents

Creating A New Nation

Rising to Global Challenge

The War Years

Pursuing Prosperity

Thoughts For America’s Future

References: All hyperlinks in this book are grouped by the

Chapter and Name as they appear in the narrative.

…nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments and, common sense…

- Thomas Paine

First Edition

Published by Bill Yuska at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 Bill Yuska

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Also by Bill Yuska, Published at Smashwords:

We The People Time

INTRODUCTION

In 1895 H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine; a science fictional account of a time traveler who voyaged thousands of centuries into the future where he encountered the ELOI, and assumed humanity had evolved into an advanced society that conquered nature, but was dying out because wisdom, intelligence and strength were no longer needed to survive. He returned to his own time in Victorian England to get the materials needed to teach the fundamentals and ignite man's curiosity and rekindle the quest for answers to start the advance of society again. Returning from the past he discovers the MORLOCK, an alliance of troglodytes performing all the tasks for making the surface world possible; the cost for the Eloi to live in splendor is to surrender their lives to the Morlock whenever caught, just like any chicken on a farm. In the end, the traveler determines that humanity has been divided with the Morlock providing the necessities to raise the Eloi as a food source; and because both have lost their need to compete, they no longer seek to conquer the challenges of the world but simply accept their lives as fated.

The 1st reviews of The Time Machine dismissed it as a Marxist presentation of the decadence of the Victorian age (Noblesse Oblige). Unfortunately and predictably many financial crises like the Panic of 1907 will always follow periods of excess, and when combined with similar events, will ultimately initiate some larger panics like the Great Depression of 1929. Have other labels been used in describing these growing periods of decadence prior to Wells' book review, or does the evolution of an idea create a label in need of use? Whatever the answer, history indicates that an economic collapse always follows a period of excessive indulgence. When an aggravation to the normal economic cycle occurs because the government initiates some legislative action; greed causes a few to try to obtain more to elevate their social status; or through a combination of these events, an economic collapse is eminent.

The longest and greatest period of societal growth in recorded history was from the 14th through 17th centuries. The Renaissance shaped culture and enhanced the growth of society, and the newly forming middle class began to close the gap in wealth to create economic stability as commerce began to thrive. This middle class was mostly composed of artisans and craftsmen that created products, and merchants to transport and sell when demand was high enough. The crime rate was significantly lower as most crimes being committed were to satisfy a few material gains instead of fulfilling survival needs. The gap in wealth between the classes began narrowing which promoted a continuing economic stability. Advances in arts and sciences launched discoveries which led to the growth of civilization and eventually to discovery of the new world.

Providing incentives in combination with humanity's competitive nature means that some will always possess more than others which can benefit all of society because it provides a means for developing innovative answers to meet the challenges of the time. The fundamental reason for the long period of societal growth and economic stability was a proportional balance of wealth between the classes because an economy doesn't care where the money resides, but on how it flows. Just as a steady flow maintains the system overall, a recession begins when the flow starts slowing down. New inventions and innovations, along with the courage to accept risk led to advances in commerce, science, and arts. Wealth was not used by few to exploit the less fortunate, but to the benefit of society as upper, middle and lower class structures continued developing with a proportional economic balance satisfying the material needs of the majority which allowed everyone to maintain and continue to contribute to growing and developing society.

1. CREATING A NEW NATION

The colonization of America began under the influences of the Renaissance with a majority of colonies being funded by wealthy merchants operating under charters from the King of England. As time went on, these merchants became impatient waiting for profits to start materializing, and began selling properties to these new Americans. Possessing their own property fertilized the roots for independence as every decision these colonists made would influence their own future. As more Americans started to possess their own property, frustration began developing as these colonists did not have adequate representation for the taxes and laws that were put upon them by those in England who could never understand the living conditions in America. The cronies sent from England to govern used their positions to gain wealth through bribery, graft from land speculation and the wealthier colonial merchants were able to purchase special favors for ignoring various tariffs and regulations while others were strangled by the burden; entrepreneurial enterprises were taken over and used to benefit the British Empire's quest for greater wealth. As these frustrations mounted and turned into anger, the ideas for a revolution to create self-governance began developing in America.

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the real work began. The United States was now a new nation without a united governing structure, which needed to be defined before it could be implemented. The men for the task at hand were well versed in the history of the Renaissance, and compiled the greatest form of government that has ever been conceived: all the people elect those who will provide their leadership, and hold them accountable for their actions at each election. The 1st representatives were the best educated and wealthiest lawyers, merchants, soldiers, physicians and farmers from their respective states who joined together to create a government whose fundamental purpose is to provide for the common good of every citizen. Being surrounded by potential enemies, unity was the primary concern of this new nation; France and England had colonies to the north in Canada; Spain was in the south (Mexico and Texas) as well as France in New Orleans; and, Native Americans were around every colony. The North favored the unity that national law provides, while Southern states preferred a priority of state law over national law for this new nation. Coming to an agreement, the Articles of Confederation were ratified by all the states in 1781. The basic structure of what would become the Constitution was now defined with a separation of powers where the Executive Branch will be responsible for implementing the laws developed by the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch will determine the constitutional legality of the laws passed; this separation of power provides checks and balances to prevent the corruption that will come to destroy the empires of Europe as they seek only to increase their wealth with the burden passed on to the least fortunate of their society. This new government assumed all the debts that the revolution had incurred with the necessary funds to be raised by state legislatures to pay all the expenditures of these new United States. A major hurdle to this endeavor was that all of these new thirteen states each had their own independent financial institutions using different forms of currency.

At Valley Forge, General George Washington was so dismayed by the poor reading skills of his troops that he asked chaplains to teach basic reading, writing and arithmetic. Most articles have claimed a high rate of literacy at this time because some could sign their name and read the bible, but the comprehension and reading levels are never mentioned. The developers of the Constitution were concerned that the population might be manipulated into voting for a wrong president, so they created a buffer between the population and presidential selection. Article II of the Constitution created an Electoral College to meet the need: each state will select a number of electors in the same proportion as their legislative representation, and each assembles in its own state; but those who serve, cannot be a serving member of congress, a high-ranking U.S. Official, or anyone who has engaged in rebellion or insurrection against the United States. The Southern states wanted more representation (kept state rights preference until the Civil War), arguing that their populations were larger because of slaves; northern states argued that slaves could not vote; yet, a count of 3 for 5 slaves was added to the census providing more electors and representatives than in northern states. Was this just a maneuver to favor slave owning states as the first 3 Presidents were from Virginia (Washington, Jefferson, and Adams) and controlling the legislature to maintain state rights preference, or was it a compromise for southern state approval for the First Bank of the United States which would favor northern interests, and national growth meant northern interests would eventually prevail? The immediate need for unity in a potentially hostile environment ended any further debate.

Optimism soared as the Revolutionary War ended. An economic boom was fueled by an increasing abundance of consumer goods, real estate investments, new building projects, gold and silver was replacing the worthless script issued by states, and a Continental Congress was assembling. This period would come to an end with growing land speculation accompanied by a wealthy few buying up the promissory notes that had been issued during the War because the states had promised to redeem them at higher values. At the same time, state legislatures were required to raise taxes to pay for the revolution, and started the Panic of 1785; Thomas Jefferson said, It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Still, many panics were followed based on various themes of greed as this new nation tried to organize itself based on the founding principle that everyone deserves fair and equal treatment under the law.

Central banking was established in 1791 to deal with financial issues under Alexander Hamilton who believed that common people neither had the necessary education nor the proper resources to properly govern themselves; and, he clearly favored the industrializing North over the agrarian South for this important endeavor. The First Bank of the United States was modeled after the Bank of England to collect taxes, hold funds and pay all debts incurred by the Revolution. At that time, many suspected the Bank of England not to beworking in the best interests of the English people, and believed that this First Bank of the United States would not be in the best interest of Americans either; yet, the