Many intellectuals during the Enlightenment explored new ideas in political economy; Adam Smith in his 1776 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was one of the most influential figures for the Americans. Smith admitted the mercantile system worked, yet criticized its principles. Expounding a doctrine of individualism, Smith was one of many voices stating that the economy, like the individual, should be free from detailed regulation from the state. Economic, as well as individual, self-interest and its outcome in the market should be allowed to function without state regulation. Although it was indeed approved by the First Continental Congress, the practice of mercantilism was replaced with a Smith-oriented form of liberalism in post-Revolutionary
Issue 7: Was the Constitution of the United States Written to Protect the Economic Interests of the Upper Classes? According to radical historian Howard Zinn, the Founding Fathers were an elite group of northern money interests and southern slaveholders who used Shay’s Rebellion in Massachusetts as a pretext to create a strong central government, which protected the property rights of the rich to the exclusion of slaves, Indians, and non-property-holding whites. Zinn uses an excerpt from historian George Bancroft to explain his reasoning. Bancroft basically said that the Constitution left out individuals and favored certain classes. Zinn also uses an excerpt from historian Charles Beard to explain his reasoning.
Capitalism and the Government Liberalism is the belief in an individual’s rights and freedoms. A constant struggle exists throughout the world to acquire the perfect amount of liberalism in a society. The source states, “society achieves its finest expression through the self-interest and freedom of individuals,” portraying a capitalist government. Supporting Adam Smith’s idea of the invisible hand, capitalists believe that the economy is self-regulating and can move itself out of recession and inflation, eliminating the need for government help. When the government is involved, a nation can reach its full potential, but without government control, societies are destined for corruption.
Jefferson and Hamilton also fought while making the national bank in 1791. Thomas Jefferson believed that a literal interpretation of the Constitution should be followed, and therefore, a federal bank was unconstitutional, while Hamilton used the ‘elastic’ clause (then called the “necessary and proper” clause) to argue it is alright to start. Because of this argument, people were surprised that when Jefferson took office, he followed Hamilton’s loose interpretation of the Constitution and hardly changed any plans, only the 8% whiskey excise tax was removed. Thomas Jefferson then also followed an ‘elastic’ interpretation of the Constitution when purchasing Louisiana from France (Doc. C).
These early ideas made it possible for the different views of the rich and working class to have their own set representation as needed when capitalism, or free market enterprise, and common wealth made its way into American economy. Free market enterprise was a way for the artisans, or skilled workers, to make money by producing and selling their products. As technology advanced and more inventions were being created there also came better, cheaper, and faster ways of producing mass amounts of the same products. Factories and new means of transportation made it possible for industrialization to make a rise and excel American economy. While business was great for the owners of these companies and those who could afford better living it was a completely different story for the factory workers and artisans.
Banking laws, tariffs, internal-improvement legislation, and the granting of public land to railroads are only the most obvious of the economic regulations enforced in the nineteenth century by both the federal government and the states. Americans saw no contradiction between government activities of this type and the free enterprise philosophy, for such laws were intended to release human energy and thus increase the area in which freedom could operate. These tariffs stimulated industry and created new jobs, railroad grants opened up new regions for development. Public had fear of the industrial giants reflected concern about monopoly. If standard Oil dominated oil refining, it might raise prices inordinately at vast cost to consumers.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson explained how governments should not be overthrown for petty reasons, but he believed the King of Great Britain had taken the situation too far. The New England economy was growing, and the colonist gradually began to think and act independently from England. Therefore, England initiated Parliament
Rough Copy In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began, as the American Colonies wanted to achieve independence from the British Monarchy. Even though many reasons were sighted out for the revolution, one in particular sticks out. King George III outlawed the interest free independent currency the thirteen colonies were producing and using themselves. This in turn forced the colonies to borrow money from the Central Bank of England, which put the colonies into immediate debt. The Federal Reserve Bank was alleged to be a step towards the “One World Government”, simply by manipulating the international monetary system and the media in order to create a monopoly.
In this new capitalist period, the more simplified means of production as seen in feudalism, had developed into a “complex industrial state” as stated in Haralambos and Holborn (2008). Capitalism brought a new way to sustain humanity; industrial production. Marxism, as a sociological theory, focuses on the economics of Britain. Lee and Newby (1983) say that to “organize the production of its subsistence” is the most basic human instinct. The economy provides us with our means of survival and defines our society.
To achieve this America first had to rid itself of the Navigation Acts. New England would set the tone; “Massachusetts bay officials regarded the colony as a “free state” subject only to laws of their making” (Lambert31). America’s fight for independence in the Atlantic started with its fight for independence politically first. Parliament enacted acts such as the Sugar and Stamp Act to try and combat these issues of American trade smuggling. But Americans were not backing down; in fact it was the exact opposite.