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8/12/2019 1995 Issue 6 - The Causes of the War of Independence, The Economic Issues of the War Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/4
THE
CAUSES
OF THE
.
W R
FOR
INDEPENDENCE
IIJ
The Economic Issues (cont.)
Mercantilism was one
important factor that brought on
the War for
Independence.
Apart from this mistaken theory
there would likely never have
been a
war
at all. The early
Americans were British by birth
and ancestry. They loved Britain
and
wovld never
have
considered
war
but
for
the fact
that
they were being treated as
second-class citizens.
They
existed to be exploited and it
was
this unjust treatment that
became one of the sparks that
ignited the fires of
independence.
Mercantilism
always
produces
evil effects:
It invariably
promotes
H
cen
tr1)lism
H
(the concentration
of power in one man or entity).
Vnder th
is
system,
the
government is assumed to have
the right (and responsibility) to
control
and
direct the economic
decisions of men. Mercantilism
supported
the idea
that
everything and everyone in a
country must be brought under
. the power.of the government,
and usually . of one. person.
(Carson, A Basic History of the
United States,
vol.
/I, p. 106)
This of course encouraged
enlightened despotism orroyal
absolutism. The King (or, in
Britain's case, Parliament) was
given nearly absolute authority
over every aspect of society. The
people could not be trusted with
freedom.
When
men lose faith
in the sovereign rule of Qod,
they
make
their rulers
' sovereigns and insist that the
State impose order over men by
regulating and legislating every
area of life.
Thomas
Hobbes (1588-
1679) gave a most thorough (and
frightening) exposition of the
doctrine of centralism in his book
The Leviathan. Hobbes said
the only way for society to exist
14
THE COUNSEL
of
Chalcedon
July,
1995
with order and prosperity was
to erect a 'common ppwer and
the only way to erect such a
power isclo confer
all
their [the
people's] power and strength
upon one man, or one assembly
of men, that may reduce all their
wills,
by
plurality of voices, unto
one will:
The
result was
described by Hobbes in these
chilling words: .
This is the generation of that
great
LEVIATHAN,
or rather,
to
speak more reverently, of that
mortal god, towhich
we
owe
under .the
immortal Qod,
our
peace and defense. For by this
. authority, given him by every
particular
man
i n the
commonwealth, he
hath
the use
of so much power and strength
conferred
on
him, that by terror
thereof, he is enabled to perfonn
. the wills
of
them all to peace at
home, and mutual aid against
their enemies abroad And
he that carrieth this . [power]
is
called sovereign, and s\lid to
have
sovereign
power; .and
every one besides, his
subject:
(quoted
in
Carson,
op.
cit., pp
106,107)
The British
Parliament
became Ood walking on earth.
Mercantilism always leads
to
centralization of power because
of what must be assumed to put
it into place.
Secondly, mercantilism
often leads to war. When
trade
is
free
of
active govemment
involvement, competition is
peacefuL But
mercantilism
makes competition into a contest
between governments.
When
governments contest for
advantage actively and
vigorously, they are
headed
toward their ultimate recourse-.
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war. (Carson,
op.
cit., pp.
112,113)
The dominance ofthistheory
in the
17th
and 18th centuries
explains, in large measure, why
the history of these centuries is
one long series of wars. The
extensive effects of these wars
may be illustrated by France.
France and England fought wars
for
over
a
century
(King
William's
War,
1689, Queen
Anne's War, 1702-1713, The
War
of
Austrian
Succession,
1740-1748, and beginning in
1754, the French and Indian
War).
The wars of the
18th century
resulted in France losing its
colonial empire to Cireat Britain
(Canada in North America and
India, a highly populated and
thus, extremely valuable
market). This
was
a tremendous
blow
to France, one from which
it never fully recovered. This
twofold loss resulted in the
destruction of France's domestic
economy (which would
eventually become one of the
factors leading to the French
Revolution). Furthermore, it
created great bitterness against
Britain. This would later make
France both a willing and earnest
partner of the colonies in the
War of Independence -- not so
much out of a love for America
as for hatred of Britain.
France's economy
was
doomed unless Britain could be
overthrown and it could regain
its lost colonies (Louisiana was
not developing rapidly enough
to be a viable market). So in
hopes of
destroying
Britain,
France became an important ally
of America -- theirnavy, militia,
and money were crucial in the
American victory.
The
victory,
however,
came too late for
France to be saved.
(Dr. Rushdoony has noted
another important consequence
of France's wars:
When
Napoleon came to power, he
sought to reestablish the French
empire by recapturing India. At
a crucial point in this war, when
it appeared he was about to lose,
he sold Louisiana
to
this country.
Again, his primary motive was
to keep it out of the hands of the
British. Had this not been done,
America may well
have
remained a small seaboard
country of little consequence in
the world.)
Of course, the huge
war
debts
incurred by Britain in its wars
with
France would provoke the
Parliament to tax the colonies
more and more adding to the
anger and frustration here. The
Americans were not pleased to
be
required to
pay
for the
animosity between Britain and
France.
There was one further effect
of the mercantile poliCies of
Britain in this country that would
have fearful repercussions in Ihe
19th century. Clarence Carson
notes:
There is good reason to
believe Ihal the Southern
agricultural and plantation
system was largely a product of
Brilish mercantile policies. The
faslening of chattel slavery on
the colonies generally and on
the South in particular was aided
and abetted by British policy. In
the first
place,
the
British
conveniently overlooked the fact
that there was no such status in
British law. The laws
establishing slavery could have
been
nullified in England
because they
were
contrary to
British law, but they were not.
In the second place, the British
engaged aggressively in the slave
trade. Third,
the British
encouraged the growth of such
crops as rice and indigo, which
could
only
be
produced in
quantity
by
the use of slaves.
Fourth, British policy opposed
the emancipation of slaves,
mainly because
they were
used
as collateral for loans.
The tendency of British
mercantile policies
would
have
been to press all the colonies
toward an exclusive reliance on
agricultural and
raw
material
production. t happened,
however, that only the Southern
colonies could produce many
such products that
did
not
compete
with
those of England,
which
is
what
was wanted.
Thus, the Southern colonies,
encouraged by British merchants
and colonial
governments,
produced tobacco, rice, indigo,
naval
stores, and
some
raw
materials
for export. The
northern colonies, denied
a
market
in
Britain for their
agricultural produce,
sought
other means
of prospering:
shipbuilding, the fur trade,
shipping, selling food to the
British
West
Indies,
and
serving
as wholesalers and merchants
for all the colonies. There
might
have been much more extensive
manufacturing throughout the
colonies,
but
British policies
discouraged
it
when it
was
not
prohibited: (Carson, op. cit., p.
117)
Though
Mercantilism
has
long been offiCially rejected as
an economic policy, the rejection
July, 1995 IRE COUNSEL of Chalcedon
t 15
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has
been
in word only.
Mercantile policies continue
to
be folloWed by most countries
today
in the form of
"neotolonialism." For example:
business -- the problem is that it
is business subsidized by the
citizens
of
the nation. This
competition between the
superpowers to create their
own
little" colonies" around the world
produces an environment
conducive
to
war.
The
Coinage
of
Money
The second economic issue
that led to the War was that of
the coinage of money. The
colonies were
in effect,
independent countries and, as
these laws as well. Finally, as a
form of economic retaliation, the
. colonies started legaliZing paper
money. Paper money could be
put into circulation quickly and
was legal tenderuntilthe King's
veto arrived from England. 50
when British merchants arrived,
they were forced
to
accept paper
instead of gold
or
silver. When
the merchants arrived back in
England and complained to the
King, he vetoed the legal tender
law. But, by the time they
returned, another had
been passed in
the
Tariffs
designed
to protect
dom'esti : industries
are
forms
of nM-mercantilism. The logic
behind tariffs is based on the
same underlying principle of
mercantilism: to discourage the
purchase of foreign goods (even
if they are cheaper and of higher
quality). In reality, tariffs only
protect
inefficient
industries
by
reducing
competition. (For this
II
wicked
people will ignore
the
best of constitutions.
Without
biblical
integrity
reason, the
steel
industry in this country
has not had
to
modernize
its
production techniques
place of the last. This
continued until
the
King
outlawed all
forms
of
paper money.
Though
this
in over one hundred
years,
and
has fallen
well behind the more
efficient steel factories
( doing justice loving
mercy
and walking
humbly
with
our God, Miccah 6:8 no
constitution will protect
practice worked as a
form of economic
warfare, it produced
an evil appetite for
paper money. This
was io cause
tremendous problems
of
other
countries).
TarIffs
may
sou.nd
patriotic, but the effect
~ u s from
the tyranny
is to
hurt
both the
producer and the consumer. The
consumer is forced
to
pay higher
prices for goods. The producer
is
allowed
to operate
inefficiently and the consequent
waste of resources is allowed
to
continue, raising prices higher.
. Vltimately, domestic businesses
are hutto If we refuse
to
buy
from foreign countries, they are
unable to buy from us. Thus,
we end up losing some
of
our
best ustomers.
Neocolonialism continues
through the practice of foreign
aid. We give money to smaller,
undeveloped countries upon
condition that
they buy
Ametica.ngoods from American
cOIPorati?l1.s: .Foreign aid is big
of
the lawless
such, had the right
to
coin their
own
money. This was opposed
by Britain to prevent the colonies
from
accumulating capital and
developing economically. Thus,
each time a
law
was passed for
the coining
of
money, the King
vetoed it. qold and silver came
into this country only when new
colonists arrived from England
or
when
raw materials were
sold. But, this money had
to
be
spent on English goods and so,
the gold kept returning to
England.
The colonies began to pass
laws allowing tax breaks
to
those
who would build ships
and
establish trade with other
countries. The King vetoed
16 f
THE COUNSEL
of
Chalcedon
July,
1995
during the War.
Inflation became
rainpant with the circulation of
paper Continental' dollars.
The
currency would soon become
proverbial for anything
worthless. VseIess items were
said to
be
not
worth
a
Continental."
Colonial legislatures learned
a good lesson on the dangers .of
papermoney. 50 well ingrained
was this lesson that the writers
of the Constitution would later
seek
to
insure the impOssibility
of paper money ever being used
as legal tender in this country.
In Article
I
section 8,
the
framers give to Congress the
power "to coin money." The
word "coih" was chosen
specifically
to excludepapcr
-
8/12/2019 1995 Issue 6 - The Causes of the War of Independence, The Economic Issues of the War Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon
4/4
money. Further, in section 10,
the
states are prohibited from
making "anything but gold
and
silver coin a tender in payment
of debts," These provisions
virtually
prohibit
the
use of
paper money in this nation.
[They certainly
prohibit
the
issuance
of "federal reserve
notes which have nothing
behind them
butthe
"good faith
and credit of the Federal
(jovernment (talk about
oxymorons )l Few citizens,
however, even know of these
provisions in our Constitution
and
fewer still rea lize that they
have not
been changed. They
are still (supposedly) the "law
of the land."
They
are simply
ignored.
Our Founding
Fathers
understood the importance of
keeping paper currency out of
the hands of politicians and
governments. At one time they
had
thought it a good idea,
but
soon realized its true evil.
We,
conversely,
have
seen the evil
but
do not care.
Which
all goes
to show
that
our security does
not rest upon constitutions,
amendments,
or
electoral
victories,
but
upon the character
(the hearts) of the people. A
wicked people will ignore the
best of constitutions. Without
biblical integrity ("doing justice,
loving
mercy,
and
walking
humbly
with our
(jod,
Micah
6:8) no constitution
will
protect
us from
the tyranny of the
lawless.
This article,
although
a part
of
the
section
on
The Causes of
the
War
of Independence,
logically follows
the one that
appeared
in
the
February 1995
issue.
For over
100
years Americans have been subjected to historical
misinformation. We have been given lies for truth andmyths for
facts. Modern, unbelievrng historians have hidden the truth of
our
nation's history from us.
America: The First 350 Years
not
only corrects the lies, but also points out things "overlooked"by
modern historians.
t
nterprets American history from a Chris
tian
perspective so that you hear not only what happened,
by
why
t
happened-and
what it means to
us
today.
32
lectures
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