Dear Monetary History Calendar reader,
While banking corporations can create money out of thin air, the rest of us can’t (if case you haven’t noticed!). If you appreciate reading this calendar and the bit of effort to develop and update it, as well as its goals of demystifying how money is created and distributed and how it can be changed to further economic and social justice, democracy and environmental sustainability, please consider making one or both of the following contributions:
• Financial: Checks and money orders can be made out to Create Real Democracy and sent to Box 18465, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118. Contributions are tax deductible.
• Time: Forward the calendar to others you know that might be interested – and encouraging them to sign up.
Thank you!
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NOVEMBER 26
1865 – “ALICE IN WONDERLAND” BY LEWIS CARROLL PUBLISHED IN THE US
The establishment of a European Monetary Union in 1993 was a bold experiment. It created a single monetary system overlaying individual nation states with their own political systems. William Buiter, member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, said ‘It’s a bold step into the unknown. Not unlike Alice [in Wonderland]’s leap down the rabbit hole.”
NOVEMBER 27
2013 – RELEASE ON THE COMMUNITY CURRENCY KNOWLEDGE GATEWAY WEBSITE THE FIRST OF 10 PART “OPEN MONEY” SHORT VIDEO SERIES
The short videos feature Michael Linton, developer of the Local Exchange Trading System (LETS), a form of community currency. The videos describe multiple aspects of money. Each video is only 2-4 minutes in length. Part 1 is at http://community-currency.info/en/featured/open-money-part-1/. The entire series is at http://community-currency.info/en/videos/introduction-to-ccs/open-money-series-michael-linton/
NOVEMBER 28
2014 – “DEBATE OVER MONETARY SYSTEM GROWS” ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON DEUTSCHE WELLE (GERMANY’S INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST WEBSITE)
“Nearly all money is created by commercial banks in the act of lending. They also decide whom to lend it to, and for what purposes. Is this good for the economy? A growing movement is arguing for an alternative.” http://www.dw.com/en/debate-over-monetary-system-grows/a-18100679
NOVEMBER 29
1820 – DEATH OF WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIS, GOVERNOR OF N. CAROLINA AND DELEGATE TO THE 1787 US CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
“So low and hopeless are the finances of the United States, that, the year before last Congress was obliged to borrow money even, to pay the interest of the principal which we had borrowed before. This wretched resource of turning interest into principal, is the most humiliating and disgraceful measure that a nation could take, and approximates with rapidity to absolute ruin: Yet it is the inevitable and certain consequence of such a system as the existing Confederation.”
NOVEMBER 30
1835 – BIRTH OF MARK TWAIN
“Beautiful credit! The foundation of modern society. Who shall say that this is not the golden age of mutual trust, of unlimited reliance upon human promises? That is a peculiar condition of society which enables a whole nation to instantly recognize point and meaning in the familiar newspaper anecdote, which puts into the mouth of the speculator in lands and mines this remark: — ‘I wasn’t worth a cent two years ago, and now I owe two million dollars.’ “
Classic Twain!
DECEMBER 1
1135 – DEATH OF KING HENRY I OF ENGLAND
About 1100, King Henry, short on gold money, created a unique form of government issued money – Tally Sticks. These sticks were just that – polished pieces or sticks of wood with notches of a certain size to indicated the value of the wood. They were declared by the King as money and issued for purchases. They were accepted by the King for payment of taxes. Tally Sticks was an accepted debt-free government-issued money system of England for over 700 years, including the period of the rise of the British Empire.
1896 – PRELIMINARY MEETING OF INDIANAPOLIS MONETARY CONVENTION
Organized by those connected to J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller (the two most powerful bankers, if not businessmen, in the US at the time), a gathering was organized one month after William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan for President to address monetary issues. The economic power elite, which had back McKinley and his support for money backed by gold, realized a pure gold standard prevented the issuance of new money when needed to meet a growing economy. Rather than directly proposing a more “elastic” monetary system or the creation of a banker controlled central bank themselves, the bankers deliberately organized a gathering of businessmen, economists, and other academics, as well as bankers, in the nation’s heartland.
A preliminary meeting was held on December 1 with a larger gathering on January 12, 1897. The effort was to camouflage the interests of the major banking interests and convince the public and Congress of the existence of a grassroots movement for real monetary reform. The Indianapolis Monetary Convention urged President McKinley to continue the gold standard, and create a new system of “elastic” bank credit. To that end, the convention urged the president to appoint a new monetary commission to prepare legislation for a new revised monetary system.
A more in-depth report from what became the Indianapolis Monetary Commission was first published on December 1 of the following year in Sound Money magazine. This provided the political cover for the introduction in Congress of a bill to create what eventually became the US. Federal Reserve Act, creating the Federal Reserve System.
DECEMBER 2
1968 – US PRESIDENT NIXON NAMES HENRY KISSINGER SECURITY ADVISOR
Attributed quote to Kissinger, connected to the powerful Rockefeller circle: “If you control the oil, you control entire nations; if you control the food, you control the people; if you control the money, you control the entire world.”
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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is the original project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. It is currently updated by Greg Coleridge. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com
To see the calendar year-to-date, go to https://monetarycalendar.wordpress.com/
A second historical calendar, the REAL Democracy History Calendar, in many ways complements this calendar. For information, go to https://realdemocracyhistorycalendar.wordpress.com/about/
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