INTRODUCTION
The Founding Fathers of the United States held grand ideals of a Republic “with liberty and justice for all.” After numerous drafts and deliberations, the revolutionary leaders framed our Constitution in 1787 – the supreme law of the land. It defined the government’s organization and constraints, and outlined its monetary responsibilities and restrictions. The national government was given the power to tax, borrow, and pay debt, along with the exclusive authority to “coin money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin.” The Constitution prohibited the states from issuing coinage or paper currency and is vague about federal paper, largely due to the collapse of the Continental Dollar and the state currencies during the Revolution. The coinage represented the new Republic’s ideals, featuring an image of Liberty on the obverse with the legends “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “LIBERTY” and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”
Did You Know?
The Constitution allows for the regulation of “foreign Coin.” This was a pragmatic recognition that a burgeoning country with no mint and few precious metals would be dependent of foreign coin as legal tender for the foreseeable future…until 1857 to be exact!
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AUDIO COMPANION
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On April 6, 1789, all 13 states unanimously elected George Washington as America’s first President. Preferring “Mr. President” to titles like “His Excellency,” Washington initially planned to serve only one term, but political strife convinced him to remain. He viewed political parties as divisive, weakening the strong central government he believed necessary to preserve independence. As our second President, John Adams followed Washington’s lead, extolling democracy, civic virtue and a strong central government. However, Adams’s polarizing personality lost him his reelection bid to political rival and friend, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson preferred a weak central government, public simplicity and fiscal responsibility. With the Louisiana Purchase, he doubled the size of the United States and retired after two terms. (4th) President James Madison sought a strong federal government and supported re-chartering the controversial Second Bank of the United States as the central bank for the nation. (5th) President James Monroe, the last Founding Father to hold the office, developed the Monroe Doctrine, a unilateral declaration that the United States would not tolerate future European interference in the Western Hemisphere.
