Sowing the Seeds of Central Banking

Michael S. Rozeff, on April 3, 2010, published parts three and four of his brilliant story on America’s decline into unconstitutional money, entitled "The U.S. Constitution and Money".

The articles below summarize portions of Edwin Vieira’s out-of-print Pieces of Eight: The Monetary Powers and Disabilities of the United States Constitution alloyed with the gloss that comes from Rozeff as finance professor. Part three covers cases on state bills of credit and Rozeff states on part four, "This 39-page excursion into finance, history, and law covers the First and Second Banks of the United States, which were the proto-central banks of the time. Marshall’s expansionary interpretation (in McCulloch v. Maryland) of the Necessary and Proper Clause is given a going over. The anti-federalists knew what was coming. Hamilton’s report on a national bank and his debate with Jefferson and Madison are covered. The unconstitutionality of a federal power to incorporate is looked at in detail. Then too there’s quite a bit on the financial side of what was going on, including the fractional-reserve end of things. Lots of meat here, including material you have never seen before, drawn from obscure texts and journals and from previously unexplored regions of my brain."

The U.S. Constitution and Money, Part 1 and Part 2, can be found here.

The U.S. Constitution and Money: Cases on State Bills of Credit (Part 3)

The U.S. Constitution and Money: The First and Second Banks of the United States (Part 4)

The U.S. Constitution and Money, Part 5, can be found here.

Michael S. Rozeff is a retired Professor of Finance living in East Amherst, New York. He is the author of the free e-book Essays on American Empire.