Money in America free essay sample

No longer were the America n people using a money system that was native elsewhere; Americans were using a monetary system hat they could call their own. The Congressional Congress did not come up with the Idea of creating a money system of their own on a whim; it took years of being oppressed by the British government for them to create the idea. Britain had put the colonies through a lot of hard times in which led the colonies to distrust the mainland and led to the idea of rebellion. To a very large extent the condition of the currency in America before the Revolution was shaped by commercial and political contacts with England. In the 15th Century when the colonies in America were first being established the none being used was still of European currency. The colonists did most of their financial reckoning In pounds, shillings, and pence. But the British colonies were not the only colonies in the New World; there were Spanish, Dutch, French, and many others. Each group had their own type of currency, the Spanish dealt with gold and silver, the Dutch dealt in copper chinches and silver strives, and the French dealt with billions.The Native Indians also inhabited the lands and they had their own forms of money which consisted of lignite and coal money, ivory and bone money and many there forms. In particular, a colony paper money was not the only money available. International monies, gold and silver specie coins, also flowed in and out of a colony and were used as money. With all the different cultures who Immigrated Into the New World, all monies were being used simultaneously with each other. Different colonies used different methods to obtain money.The Southern colonies, such as the Carolinas, produced commodities that furnished substantial direct returns to England. The Northern and Middle Colonies had to resort to a roundabout trade to acquire the products, bills of exchange, or specie with which to pay for their imports from the mother country. The medium of exchange was less imperative in some trading colonies than in others: It was less when the trade with England was direct and greater when the trade was Indirect. when the colonies were trading with England, they traded goods for money which could be used most places within the New World.When the colonies traded with others, not the motherland, it was a harder trade because the money or goods that were traded were not always compatible with the area they ivied In. Colonies, by contrast, used the same money of account as the mother country. A colonial exchange transaction consisted of paying some premium in colonial currency for the delivery of a certain sum in the metropolis or vice versa. OFF distant sovereign and an apathetic ministry, the orderly development of the Colonies was impossible. The Colonies could not come up with an individualized identity without their own money system.For as long as they were under the control of the British government, they used their money and were regulated the same as the British, and most times had harder taxes to deal with due to the problem that the representatives of the colonies lived in England and didnt understand what hard times the colonists were experiencing. Money and taxes were closely intertwined during 1714-39. Many of the tax measures enacted during this period were dedicated to retiring public bills of credit. There was beginning to be a problem with paper money in colonies. The Motherland wasnt providing any money for colonies, leaving them to fend for themselves. The law of the land then forbade the exportation of English coin, but it did allow the exportation, without duty, of bullion, foreign coin, and wrought silver. The chief element in the colonies supply of coin was the Spanish dollar, or piece of eight, of which there were several varieties The British placed many taxes on the colonies, which were unfair and cost a lot of money on behalf of the colonists. Some of the taxes were the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and tariffs. In several of the colonies the tariff acts were among the earliest attempts at financial legislation. The plan was to discourage importation, and keep down expenses by diminishing consumption. The Sugar Act was a tax on all sugar in the colonies. This was huge hit to the colonies because they enjoyed sugar on Just about everything, especially tea. It was said that the New England merchants felt this act was more alarming than even the darkest hour of the French and Indian War. The act was seen as a moderate inconvenience, but people paid it to keep living their lives they had always been. North Carolina was the only colony which took the Sugar Act squarely for what it really was, a revenue tax. While the Sugar Act was not favorably received in the colonies, it was nothing to ampere to the fevered outrage that occurred with the passage of what was to become the infamous Stamp Act. When introducing it [the stamp act] to parliament he managed to maneuver the colonist into a position where a stamp act would appear to be result of their failure to come to the assistance of the mother country in an hour of need. The Stamp was a huge blow on the colonists in the New World, it was making them pay abnormal amounts of extra money on all printed materials such as legal documents and newspapers.The Stamp Act started mass protests with the colonies. The colonists did not want o have their money taken away from them on a tax which they did not agree on. There were four different types of resistance: pamphlets, mob action, congresses assemblies, and boycotts. The Sons of Liberty is one group which orchestrated many different actions against the tax, but violence was not against people, but coordinated on property. The Virginia House of Burgesses and the Stamp Act Congress are two groups that convened to come up with ideas to get rid of the tax. They said that Parliament has the right to legislate the colonies, but not tax them. Boycotts were only on English goods. Homeless, and the nation, by trying for popularity. Instead of repealing the act fully, Parliament decreed the Declaratory Act that says that Parliament has the right to legislate in all cases. Even with the Stamp Act appealed there were others acts implemented that caused the colonist distress. The distress led to Britain sending over troops to Boston, which in turn caused more distress due to the fact that the colonists would have to house, feed, and offer Jobs for the soldiers who came over. This led to the event known as the Boston Massacre where thirteen colonists were killed and wounded.Later in 1733 there was the Boston Tea Party, where Bostonians dressed as Indians and destroyed three hundred chests of British Tea. The East Indies Company had a monopoly on tea at the time and in response, Parliament lowered the duty on tea, but because the colonies werent paying a duty to begin with it caused uproar. The colonists were not pleased with England at this point. Treasuries of the several colonies were almost empty. The Continental Congress is a group of men who gathered together in attempt to change the colonies for the better and be rid of the hold that England has on them.They wanted to go up against England and declare their independence. In order to accomplish this, there must be a war. With war come many things that are need: food, equipment, weapons. For those items to be had there is a cost, which many do not have the funds to pay for. The Congress did not want to tax the citizens because that would mean they are Just like the English Parliament. The Congress wanted to establish a paper currency. But, The continental Congress had no legal power to create money and no physical power to maintain or enforce its circulation after it had been created.Continental bills were created anyway, although they were not legal tenders in the country. When the colonies went to war with England, their freedom was on the line. At the end of the war, the colonies were now a nation. The Constitution was written which in the Articles of Confederation, gave the authority to print money and it be a legal tender. This lasted for a while until some states declared that the Continental bills should not be legal anymore. It took a while for all the states to decide on the type of money that should be the main currency in America. Perfection takes a while to happen.