We've been here before

This is a short excerpt taken from chapter 8 of the book "Meet The System."

This is not the first or second time “banking elites” have sought to seize control of our monetary system. It is the third. [1] Our first Central Bank, “The Bank of the United States,” was narrowly voted out of existence in 1811. Our second Central Bank, “The 2^nd Bank of the United States,” went down kicking and screaming in 1836. Sadly, our third Central Bank, The Federal Reserve, was created 77 years later (in 1913) and has been with us ever since. But as our history clearly shows, the Fed only exists because we permit it to. For proof, we needn’t look any further than the hard-fought battle that brought the 2^nd Bank of the United States to its knees.

You see, we’ve already covered the danger of handing over control of our nation’s money supply to “unscrupulous, yet highly intelligent bankers.” We’ve covered how the Federal Reserve System has been used (and is being used) against us. What we haven’t covered is what can happen when just ONE effective leader turns on the financial elite, bites the hand that feeds Washington and (with the help of an informed and fed up citizenry) engages the enemy head on. So let’s cover that now.

Nicholas Biddle VS Andrew Jackson

The 2^nd Bank of the United States was created in 1816. It was granted a 20-year charter and was headed by Nicholas Biddle. Biddle represented:

“…the archetype of the new Eastern Establishment: wealthy, arrogant, ruthless, and brilliant. He had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at the age of only thirteen, and, as a young man entering business, had fully mastered the secret science of money. –With the ability to control the flow of the nation’s credit, Biddle soon became one of the most powerful men in America.” (Emphasis added.)

By first heavily inflating the money supply and then suddenly, drastically and deliberately constricting it, the Bank managed to wipe out many competing state-run banks. (And that translates into a LOT of Americans losing everything they had.) In fact, the “2^nd Bank of the United States” had the distinct honor of handing our newly formed republic its first nationwide depression. The ensuing chaos became known as the “Panic of 1819.”

“Starting in July of 1818…the BUS (2^nd Bank of the United States) began a series of enormous contractions, forced curtailment of loans, contractions of credit in the south and west…The contractions of money and credit swiftly brought to the United States its first widespread economic and financial depression. …The result of this contraction was a rash of defaults, bankruptcies of business and manufacturers...” –Murray Rothbard.

“The pressure placed upon the state banks deflated the economy drastically, and as the money supply wilted, the country sank into severe depression.” –Herman Krooss

As the effects of the Panic of 1819 took hold (hundreds of thousands out of work, unemployment exceeding 70% in some areas, thousands placed in debtor’s prison) public sentiment again turned toward the “honest-money” principles long advocated by Thomas Jefferson. But the “Jeffersonian Republicans” (formerly the champions of honest money) had abandoned this platform. …Fortunately for America, one man (Andrew Jackson) stood ready to take their place. Elected President in 1828, Jackson pledged to resurrect the principles of sound money, abolish the bank, and (in so doing) rid our nation of a threat he deemed “…more formidable and dangerous than a naval and military power of the enemy.”

But this would be no easy task…the Bank’s influence ran deep into the halls of Congress. Biddle, as one of the “most powerful men in America,” was able to reward compliant Congressmen with assistance in the business world, and he did so regularly. Or, as Republican Congressman John Randolph put it: “Every man you meet in this House…with some rare exceptions…is either a stockholder, president, cashier, clerk or doorkeeper, runner, engraver, paper maker, or mechanic in some other way to a bank.”

Neither Jackson nor Biddle was going to just roll over. Each man knew his enemy, the lines had been drawn, the stakes couldn’t be higher; this was going to be a war.

Using his influence, Biddle fired the first round. In a brilliant political move, he persuaded Congress to pass a bill granting early renewal of the Bank’s charter. The year was 1832 and with Jackson up for reelection, Biddle assumed Jackson wouldn’t dare defy Congress and veto the bill. (The controversy could potentially cost him the election.) …Biddle assumed wrong. The law granting early renewal only infuriated Jackson. The President stood his ground – and the war was on.

“Jackson decided to place his entire political career on the line for this one issue and, with perhaps the most passionate message ever delivered to Congress by any President, before or since, he vetoed the measure.

…Congress, the banks, speculators, industrialists, and segments of the press; these were the forces commanded by Biddle. But Jackson had a secret weapon which had never been used before in American politics. That weapon was a direct appeal to the (voters.) He took his message on the campaign trail and delivered it in words well chosen to make a lasting impression…He spoke out against a moneyed aristocracy which had invaded the halls of Congress, impaired the morals of the people, threatened their liberty, and subverted the electoral process. The Bank, he said, was a hydra-headed monster eating the flesh of the common man. He swore to do battle with the monster and slay it or be slain by it.

…Jackson had awakened the indignation of the American people. When the November ballots were cast, he received a mammoth vote of confidence. He received 55% of the popular vote…and eighty per cent of the vote in the Electoral College. …Jackson won the election, but the Bank had four more years to operate, and it intended to use those years to sway public sentiment back to its support. The biggest battles were yet to come.”

After the election, Jackson wasted no time mounting his counter attack. He instructed his Treasury Secretary to put all future federal deposits in various state-run banks. Moreover, he ordered all federal expenses to be paid (first) out of the remaining funds still held in the 2^nd Bank of the United States. With no new deposits coming in, and with the government’s existing account drained to zero, the Bank would surely be crushed.

–But Jackson’s Treasury Secretary (Louis Mclane) refused the order. Undeterred, Jackson replaced him with a new Treasury Secretary (William Duane) and instructed him to do the same. But Duane also refused the order and, worse, he refused to resign! Not a problem. Duane received the following from the President himself: “Your further services as Secretary of the Treasury are no longer required.” And with that, the third Treasury Secretary, Roger Taney, took his post. –And federal funds began moving out of the Bank.

Convinced he finally had “the monster” where he wanted it, Jackson is reported to have said: “I have it chained…I am ready with the screws to draw every tooth and then the stumps…Mr. Biddle and his Bank (ought to be) quiet and harmless as a lamb in six weeks.” But the President’s optimism was premature.

Biddle Deliberately Crashes the Economy

“Biddle responded, not like a lamb, but more like a wounded lion. His plan was to rapidly contract the nation’s money supply and create another panic-depression similar to the one the Bank had created thirteen years earlier. This then could be blamed on Jackson’s withdrawal of federal deposits, and the resulting backlash surely would cause Congress to override the President’s veto.”

Historian Robert Remini writes:

“Biddle counterattacked. He initiated a general curtailment of loans throughout the entire banking system… It marked the beginning of a bone-crushing struggle between a powerful financier and a determined and equally powerful politician. (Biddle) knew that if he brought enough pressure and agony to the money market, only then could he force the President to restore the deposits. He almost gloated. “This worthy President thinks that because he has scalped Indians and imprisoned Judges, he is to have his way with the Bank. He is mistaken. …Nothing but widespread suffering will produce any effect on Congress…Our only safety is in pursuing a steady course of firm restriction – and I have no doubt that such a course will ultimately lead to restoration of the currency and the re-charter of the Bank…”

What words are there to describe the amazing arrogance and depravity of such men? That they exist at all (and that we have handed them so much power) is enough to make any moral human being shudder in disgust.

With the well-being of millions of citizens in the palm of his hand, Biddle saw no obligation to protect them from harm. Rather, he sadistically tightened his grip. And after crushing enough families to cause “widespread suffering,” he (backed by many in the press and Congress) pointed to Jackson as the culprit! In no uncertain terms, Biddle and the Bank were put forward as the saviors – the only ones who could possibly fix the economy that Jackson had broken. And to help ease the suffering, they were ready, willing and able to “assist.” All they needed was for Congress to overrule Jackson, restore the deposits he’d removed, and re-charter the bank.

“By the time Congress reconvened in December, in what was called the “Panic Session,” the nation was in an uproar. Newspapers editorialized with alarm, and letters of angry protest flooded into Washington. …it began to look like Biddle’s plan would work. In the public eye, it was Jackson who was solely responsible for the nation’s woes. It was his arrogant removal of Secretary Duane; it was his foolish insistence on removing the deposits; it was his obstinate opposition to Congress.

For one-hundred days a “phalanx of orators” daily excoriated the President for his arrogant and harmful conduct. …a resolution of censure was introduced into the Senate and, on March 28, 1834, it was passed by a vote of 26 to 20. This was the first time that a President had ever been censured by Congress, and it was a savage blow to Jackson’s pride.

The President rumbled around the White House in a fit of rage. “You are a den of vipers,” he said to a delegation of the Bank’s supporters. “I intend to rout you out and by the Eternal God I will rout you out!”

A less determined man would have surrendered, but Jackson simply redoubled his efforts. Slowly but surely, public awareness grew that it was Biddle (not Jackson) who was to blame for the nation’s suffering. Ironically, Biddle’s giant ego (and equally big mouth) played a prominent role in exposing the truth. He was so proud of his brilliant plan to crash the economy, he openly bragged about it. And when people heard him brag, and then saw him actually implement the plan, they spoke out against what he had done. (Imagine that.) The tables turned once and for all when the Governor of the Bank’s home state (George Wolf of Pennsylvania) publicly denounced both Biddle and the Bank. Within days, the mood of the country turned permanently and passionately in support of Jackson.

In the House, Democrats introduced a series of resolutions to show support for the President’s policy toward the bank. A resolution stating the bank “ought not to be re-chartered” passed with a vote of 134 – 82. That federal deposits in the bank “ought not to be restored” passed with a vote of 118 – 103. That a special committee of Congress ought to investigate whether the Bank deliberately caused the economic crisis passed with a vote of 175 – 42! Jackson had been vindicated. Even the Senate’s vote of censure was eventually rescinded.

As for Biddle:

“When the investigating committee arrived at the Bank’s doors in Philadelphia armed with a subpoena to examine the books, Biddle flatly refused. Nor would he allow inspection of correspondence with Congressmen relating to their personal loans and advances. …For lesser mortals, such action would have resulted in…stiff fines or imprisonment. But not for Nicholas Biddle. Remini explains:”

“The committeemen demanded a citation for contempt, but many southern Democrats opposed this extreme action, and refused to cooperate. As Biddle bemusedly observed, it would be ironic if he went to prison “by the votes of members of Congress because I would not give up to their enemies their confidential letters.”

“The ending of this saga holds no surprises. The Bank’s charter expired in 1836 and it was restructured as a state bank by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After a spree of speculation in cotton, lavish advances to the Bank’s officers, and the suspension of payment in specie, Biddle was arrested and charged with fraud. Although not convicted, he was still undergoing civil litigation when he died.”

Where do we stand today?

The Congress has the power to abolish the Federal Reserve System, but our leaders have been ominously silent on the issue. It seems few are interested in cutting off the hand that feeds Washington’s insatiable appetite for money and power. However, there has been one lone voice in the wilderness. -A man who fully understands the fraudulent nature of our monetary system. -A man who fully understands the objectives of those who created it. He is Presidential Candidate Ron Paul.

The consistency of Congressman Paul’s voting record is impeccable and his dedication to the founding principles of our country unimpeachable. In Congress, he has spoken out forcefully against the Fed for decades. He is honest, intelligent, humble, brave, and sincere; a true public servant and true leader. Above all, he is NOT an anointed instrument of the “intellectual elite and world bankers” trying to erode our sovereignty “piece by piece.”

Dr. Paul has no ties to the CFR, no ties to the Trilateral Commission, and no ties to the Bilderberg Group. In short, he isn’t a member of “The Establishment.” There are no questions regarding where his loyalties lie. For more than 40 years (first in the military, then in Congress) he has upheld his sworn oath to “Preserve, Protect and Defend” the Constitution of the United States. In this day and age, we are very lucky to have a man of his integrity as a choice for President.

Our country truly is at the crossroads. If our founding fathers saw America today, they’d surely think we were conquered by a foreign army. And in a sense, they’d be correct. The ruling elite have infiltrated and perverted our system of government to serve their own ends. They’re “arrogant, brilliant, and ruthless,” and they’ll stop at nothing to finish what they have started. That is why WE must stop them. And by striking the root of their power, with the help of a determined and principled leader like Ron Paul, we will.

Joe Plummer 8-12-2007

• “…they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of Governments and hold in the hollow of their hands the destiny of the people.” –Reginald McKenna, Midlands Bank of England

• "For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents...to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as “internationalists” and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure- one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it." –David Rockefeller, from his book "Memoirs," page 405

• "The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money." – Josiah Charles Stamp, former director of the Bank of England

Acknowledgements - Introduction

1. Money is Power...............................................5

2. Something for Nothing................................12

3. The Bailout.................................................18

4. Dreaming of a New World Order......................27

5. BUILDING a New World Order........................35

6. What is Money?..........................................44

7. The World's First Central Bank........................58

8. How They Do It - How We Stop Them.............64

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