What Is A "Dollar"?
An Historical Analysis Of The Fundamental Question In Monetary Policy
by
Edwin Vieira, Jr.
Foreword
Today, all thinking, informed Americans know their country is in trouble. Many haven't a clue as to what went wrong with their government, while others can recite a litany of reasons for their country's distress. Of course, no one reason is paramount; but surely a debased, corrupt, and inflationary monetary system must be placed near the top of the list of causes of America's woes.
What To Do About It?
This Monograph presents, in irrefutable fashion, the legal and economic history of the "dollar," and of the "dollar's" role in America's monetary system, as originally devised by the Founding Fathers. It also analyzes the Coinage Act of 1792, signed into law by President Washington, which put into effect the monetary system the Founders had previously outlined in the Constitution.
This system helped make the United States "dollar" the safest, most sought-after currency in the world, leading to the well-known saying "sound as a dollar." However, in 1913, Congress - in an unconstitutional act - relinquished its constitutional power and duty to "coin Money and regulate the Value thereof" to a private banking cartel, the Federal Reserve System.
The ensuing years witnessed a gradual abandonment of the Founding Fathers' system (based on silver and gold coins) and the insidious substitution of a paper-currency system based on irredeemable, fiat Federal Reserve Notes, which continue to circulate today only because of the public's misplaced confidence.
What to do about it? is the question. Obviously, the Federal Reserve System's experiment with fiat currency has failed. But we cannot have a sound economy without sound money. That means we must return to a monetary system based on silver and gold coins - as the Founding Fathers wisely specified. This will require action by Congress to rectify its mistake of 1913, by abolishing the Federal Reserve System and reaffirming the "dollar" as a coin containing 371.25 grains (troy) of fine silver.
We know that Congress will take no such action on its own initiative. Congress will move only when the general public becomes aware of, and incensed by, the monetary mess Congress and the Federal Reserve System have created. Therefore, everyone concerned with "the money issue" must bring the facts to the attention of as many Americans as possible.
This Monograph contains more than enough documentation to convince anyone of good faith and an open mind of what a "dollar" is. This documentation should be used in every possible way to generate public debate on the money issue: letters to the editor, call-ins to radio talk shows, local citizens' meetings, and so on. All these offer opportunities to present powerful arguments for a restoration of the constitutional monetary system, and to wrest the initiative in the public forum away from the Federal Reserve System and its apologists.
As the Monograph concludes, "modern money has become a means for the total confiscation of private property by the government." It is, therefore, incumbent on those of us who understand this issue to make the truth known to others. Nothing could be more vital than to restore the monetary system with a proven track record: the one devised by our Founding Fathers!
Richard L. Solyom, Chairman
Sound Dollar Committee
https://www.constitution.org/mon/what_is_a_dollar.htm