The Great Depression

            There are many things that are misunderstood about the Great Depression. Many believe that it was caused by failures of the free market system. Some also believe that government intervention was the best solution. There are a lot of things to consider when deciding how exactly the depression was caused. The Great Depression was not caused by a failure of the free market and resolved by government intervention.

            The government during the depression era was not careful in the way they managed the budget. The political mismanagement of the money and credit supply was a huge factor that led to the depression. They compounded their initial errors with a series of additional and harmful interventions. The article “The Great Myths of the Great Depression” mentions four downturns that led to the depression and they are as follows, “Monetary policy and the business cycle, the disintegration of the world economy, the New Deal, and the Wagner Act. The Monetary policy and business cycle was meant to manage the economy, but this was actually when we begin to see mismanagement of the of the money and credit supply. The disintegration of the world economy put a new stress on everyone. Everyone was worried about their money so they would line up at the banks to get their money out. This eventually led to bank runs. Another aspect of the disintegration of the world economy was the fact that the government was allowing people to borrow money to buy stocks. They allowed “margin lending.” This was a catalyst to the stock market crash. The New Deal was not the best idea because these programs were such that they intervened in a way that the government shouldn’t. The Wagner Act organized labor’s Magna Carta and revolutionized American labor relations.

            The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was one government plan, made my President Hoover, which ignited a vicious international trade war. It raised rates on many products. These tariffs were based on the percentage of the price rather than a specific amount of money. These tariffs made it nearly impossible for foreign businessmen to sell their goods in American markets because their debts became such a burden. The market was constantly rising and falling due to different policies that were put into place at different times. “The market rose and fell in almost direct synchronization with what the Fed and Congress were doing.” (“The Great Myths of the Great Depression.”)

            After the stock market crash Hoover urged business leaders to keep wages artificially high. He created the High Wage policy. He also dramatically increased government spending for subsidy and relief schemes. Some believe that President Roosevelt patterned his New Deal ideas after President Hoover’s policies.

            Roosevelt’s New Deal was put forth to manage the economy and create jobs for the unemployed. It ended up putting the economy in more disarray and confusion. The most radical aspect of the New Deal was the National Industrial Recovery Act which created the National Recovery Administration. This new policy created codes that regulated prices and terms of sale on items. This was a fascist –style arrangement. Benjamin M. Anderson claimed that the NRA was an “Anti revival measure.” (The Great Myths of the Great Depression.)

            The Great Depression was caused by a great many things. There were a lot of small circumstances that led to such a great measure of poverty and unemployment. It was not caused by failure of the free market system. It was not resolved by government intervention. Having the government intervene escalated the depression in some ways. The government was mismanaging the budget and credit supply. They were reckless with their money supply and irresponsible with the credit growth. These are some of the factors that led to the Great Depression.

Charter Essay Lesson 6

            The first thing I would do if I created my own city would be to set up a republic society. In a republic people are free to do things their own way so long as it is moral. I would set up rules and regulations to help prevent monopolies, fraud, and abuse. I would also make a constitution that is similar to the United States Constitution. This would be beneficial to the economic growth and prosperity of my city because it would be run by the people. There would be a government put into place, but the government would exist as a support system. They would not be the ones in charge of all the businesses. The businesses would be run by the people.

            Another thing I would implement in my city would be the free market system. The free market system is based on supply and demand. Supply means how much the market can offer and demand means how much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers. The definition of supply and demand says: “The relation between these two factors determines the price of a commodity. This relationship is thought to be the driving force in a free market. As demand for an item increases, prices rise. When manufacturers respond to the price increase by producing a larger supply of that item, this increases competition and drives the price down.” (Dictionary.com) Supply and demand is the foundation of a market economy. Price is a reflection of supply and demand. This system would also be run by the people with little to no government intervention. People working in this system would work together out of self interest. The “invisible hand” would help guide people to act in the interest of others. This idea of self interest is not greedy because people are willing to help make things better for others. Those who are greedy work for themselves. They only care about themselves and gratifying their own needs. In a free market system people would be free to work to help benefit others and in turn would help themselves as well. The benefit of a free market system would be that there is more freedom and opportunity for everyone. The “invisible hand” helps others to work together for mutual benefits.

            In order for the market economy to have a high success rate there has to be competition between businesses. Competition makes a market economy successful. Businesses are constantly trying to outshine one another so that they can get the most costumers. When one company provides a product or service for a cheaper price their competitors will soon be on the hunt to improve their business. They will look for ways to improve upon what they have already to make it more satisfying for their customers. They will make their options more appealing to the public. Competition would be beneficial to economic prosperity because it keeps businesses on their toes. Competition helps businesses improve themselves and it helps them to do better as a company.

            Another important factor to include in my city would be the use of technology. Technology makes the world go round. Technology greatly helps with supply and demand. It helps to make the supply availability faster. Technology also helps make life a lot easier. Technology exists because of a free market system and so it makes sense that it would be a part of that system. In my city we would have the freedom to have entrepreneurs who will innovate and continue to help the economy grow. The benefits of technology in my city are numerous. Learning how to use technology would make people more valuable as a worker. It would help many people get jobs.

            One of the most important factors in creating my city would be the implementation of the rights to life, liberty, and property. These rights are what make people free. People need political and economic freedom. The right to life means people have the right to live. They don’t have to live in fear of someone killing them for no reason. The right to Liberty means people have the right to freedom and justice. With that right also come consequences to protect everyone. The right to property means that everyone has the right to pursue property and has the right to do whatever they need to in order for them to obtain property. Once they do that no one can take that property away from them as long as they make their payments. Having these rights will make people free and that is how it will benefit the city.

            These elements are essential for economic growth and prosperity. Without these standards people would not be as free and independent. The government would be taking over and infringing on their rights as individuals. Businesses would not grow to their full potential and the economy would not run as smoothly. Life would be harder without the use of technology and production rates would be much lower. These elements will make it possible for economic prosperity to prevail. 

Federalist No. 51

           The dilemma that James Madison poses in his paper is the paradox that “Men are governing Men.” This idea raises the question: where does the true power lie? That is the difficultly of it all. If men are governing men who gets the power to govern? The Preamble to the Constitution begins with “We the people…” The primary control then seems to be a dependence on the people. The people are responsible for their government. The people hold the true power. They then relinquished some of that power to the government so that they could enforce the laws. This made man subject to their government. “You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” (Federalist No. 51)

            James Madison believed that the Constitution solved this difficulty through auxiliary precautions. “Experience has taught mankind the necessity of Auxiliary Precautions” (The Federalist No. 51) Auxiliary Precautions included many ideas, one of them being checks and balances. Checks and Balances were a way to make sure that not one part of the government had too much power over the other. One example is the Division of Powers between State and National governments. The Legislative Branch is another example because it was separated into two different sections; the House of Representatives and the Senate. Another precaution was the Separation of Power into the three branches; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. “It is evident that each department should have a will of its own and consequently should be so constituted that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others.” (Federalist No. 51) Separating into three branches allowed them to check on each other to make sure that one branch was not superior to the other and that they all performed their specific responsibilities.

            Another point is that we have a written Constitution. This written Constitution limits the power of the government because it gives them a list of things they can do.” People also participated and continued to be the ultimate sovereigns of their government.” (The Federalist No. 51) This again shows how the primary control is dependence on the people. As long as the people are the ultimate sovereigns the government can govern the people and keep control of itself with little contention. “The different governments will control each other; at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” (The Federalist No. 51) The founding fathers put these auxiliary precautions into the Constitution to make sure that everything stayed fair and that the power did not fall into one place. They made sure to divide the power and to create checks and balances within the government so that justice and liberty existed. “Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.” (The Federalist No. 51)

            

U.S. Constitution

·         What about the U.S. Constitution was inspired?

·         How is it that the U.S. Constitution was inspired?

(I combined my answers together explaining the “what” and “how” the U.S. Constitution was inspired. For example I tell you what was inspired and then explain how it was inspired.)

            There are many ideas in the constitution that were inspired. Separation of Powers was one inspired idea of the Constitution. This means that each branch is independent and balanced. The idea of the separation of powers was inspired because the founding fathers decided to hold conventions. These conventions were a way to deliberate among the men how they should come to govern the people of the United States. Conventions were also a way to council with everyone. Holding councils are a great way to receive revelation from God. In the convention they counseled and received revelation which guided them to just the right combination to ensure the integrity of each individual branch. The founding fathers were guided in their thoughts to hold conventions so that they could council one with another to bring about this resolution. Dallin H. Oaks quoted President Clark in his talk “The Divinely Inspired Constitution” saying: “It is this union of independence and dependence of these branches- legislative, executive, and judicial- and of the governmental functions possessed by each of them that constitutes the marvelous genius of this unrivalled document…” The separation of powers makes certain that no one part of the government holds too much power over the other.

            A written Bill of Rights is another inspired idea of the Constitution. The inspiration for the Bill of Rights came from pre-existing principles. These pre-existing principles such as the Magna Carta and the English Bill of rights helped set the stage for the United States Bill of Rights. These previous principles had the idea that man had certain rights given to them by their creator and the government was to protect those rights. Dallin H. Oaks says in his talk “The Divinely Inspired Constitution:” “The Declaration of Independence had posited these truths to be “self-evident,” that all men “are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights,” and that governments are instituted “to secure these rights.” This inspired Constitution was established to provide a practical guarantee of these God-given rights.” The founding fathers knew that they needed to secure the rights of man that were given to them by God. They were inspired to create a Bill of Rights to secure man’s inalienable rights.

            Another inspired part of the Constitution was the design of Popular Sovereignty. This means that the people are the source of the governmental power. The power of sovereignty lied with the people. Religious people affirm that God gave them their rights, and that he gave the power to the people. They were then able to decide how much power to give to their government. Along with that it implies popular responsibility. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. The colonies were no longer governed by a king so they could not blame him or parliament for their struggles with their government. The people were now responsible for electing their leaders. In turn they share the responsibility of their leaders’ choices and actions because they had the opportunity and responsibility to elect their leaders.

            The Constitution also inspired the idea of the Rule of Law. This means that leaders and rulers were not above man. The people realized that God gives man his rights. God is the supreme ruler over the people. If a nation is to be ruled in peace, then the leaders must subject themselves to God and act under his direction. The governed people must in turn sustain and uphold their leaders whom they chose to lead and guide them. The idea that God is the supreme ruler was the original idea of the founding fathers. They based their ideas of liberty off of this principle in hopes that America would be ruled by both justice and mercy. The Rule of Law was inspired because the colonists knew that no ruler was to be put above any other person. They knew that God had his hand in establishing the Constitution of the United States.

            The Constitution had many inspired ideas and the way it was inspired is truly incredible. The founding fathers worked hard to ponder and commune with God to create a document worthy to govern the United States. It was inspired by God. The founding fathers held conventions to council with others and they received revelation. Pre-existing principles were also a part of creating the constitution. There is no doubt that the Constitution was created by worthy men who were inspired by the hand of God. 

The Moral Foundation for the American Struggle for Independence

            The American colonies were morally justified in declaring independence from the British government. The British government infringed on the rights of the colonists by forcing new laws and regulations on the colonies. The government also forced soldiers into the homes of the colonists for them to house and supply food. They violated their natural rights as well as imposed new taxes. The government created many of the new taxes to raise revenues, but they did it on their own terms and did not consent to the colonists, thus they had taxation without representation.

            The Coercive Acts of 1774 were a breach of the colonists’ liberty. The Massachusetts Government Act brought the Massachusetts government under control of the crown. The colonists did not want to be forced to be loyal to Britain. They felt that they could govern themselves without the crown or Parliament. The Administration of Justice Act made it so that royal officials no longer had to face trial in the colonies. If they felt that their trail was going to be unfair they could move it to another place. They did not have to hold their trial in the colony where the offense was made. They could go to a neighboring colony or all the way back to Britain. This was not a fair rule because the colonists had no say in the matter and it put the high class above the law and it protected them from justice. The Boston Port Act was another setback. After the Boston Tea Party, Great Britain thought they could outsmart and persuade the colonists to pay them back for dumping their tea by closing their ports. By creating these new rules the colonists were losing their freedom of speech in a sense, since they could not vote on these regulations. The British government was taking away their freedom to vote for such regulations.

            The Rule of Law says that leaders and rulers are not above the law. The British government broke the rule of law when King George III created a more powerful government by placing men who were loyal to him to work for him. The British government also violated the rule of law each time they put a new act into place. These acts were not represented by the colonists. The government took it upon themselves to create regulations that they deemed fit. The government was created by man to protect their rights. If man does not give their government the power to act, and they do it anyway, then they violate the rule of law. When they do these things, they put themselves above the rule of law and those that they should be governing.

            The Quartering Act was put into place in 1765.  The colonists were forced to take in British soldiers in their homes and supply them with food. The soldiers also occupied empty homes in the colonies wherever they could find them. This act took away part of the colonists life due to new responsibilities placed upon them by the British government. Having the soldiers in their homes also took away their privacy. The government was oppressing the colonists by making them house the soldiers. The British government wanted to punish them for their acts of rebellion. This was especially hard on those already poor colonists who could hardly feed their families. They now had to ration their food to feed the soldiers. That was an infringement on their life because they could no longer care for their family the way they would like to.

            Taxing the colonies was another way the government oppressed the American colonies. The British government put the Sugar Act into play in 1764 and used that to raise revenues. It increased the duties on imported sugar and other items such as textiles, coffee, wines and indigo. It doubled the duties on foreign goods reshipped from England to the colonies. It even forbade the import of some foreign goods. The following year they enacted the Stamp Act. This imposed a new tax on all printed materials such as newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards. The Stamp Act was the first direct tax put on the colonies. The Tea Act of 1773 put a tax on all the tea that was being imported from the East India Trading Company. This made the colonists especially upset since tea is central to British culture, thus it was a common item found in the households of the American Colonies. In 1776 the British government put in place the Declaratory Act that declared that Britain could regulate and tax the colonists in any way it saw fit. This act stated that Parliament had the absolute power to make laws and changes to the colonial government at any time, and in any case, even though the colonists were not represented in Parliament in any way.

            Great Britain was an empire and the king wanted it to stay strong. King George III was afraid of colonial independence because it diminished Great Britain’s significance as a powerful empire. The king wanted to expand his empire as far as he could. The king knew that if the American colonies rebelled, it would jeopardize his ability to control other colonies or expand further, and ultimately end his empire.

             The colonists had different reactions to the diverse regulations. The most notable was their reaction to the Tea Act of 1773. The colonists carried blankets and hatchets and disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians by painting their faces. They quietly boarded the ship and when the order was given they tossed the chests of tea into the harbor. In reaction to the Stamp Act, Samuel Adams voiced the opinion of many others when he brought up the point that if they were being taxed in their trade, where would it end? Property? Possessions? Other reactions made by the colonists to the Stamp Act included protests in the streets that helped the colonists to band together for a common goal against the government. Reactions to the Sugar Act were mostly expressed in Boston and New York where they reduced their imports of British luxury items and encouraged and increased in local manufacturing.

            The colonists had several justifications to reinforce their behaviors and rebellions against the British government. Because their natural rights were infringed upon, they felt that their only options were to rebel and work against the oppressive British government. The American colonists wanted their voices to be heard by the British government and they did so by rebelling and making sure their rights were known. The very Acts imposed to keep the colonies under control served as the catalyst for the Revolutionary War which ended in the freeing of those colonies and the formation of the United States of America.