1787 -->1979 -->2010
Remember 1979? If you were not alive then or were too young to know the economic situation at the time, it was frightening. I not only remember it, but also studied it in econ classes while working on my MBA.
I purchased an RV that year. The interest rate was 13.75%. And interest rates continued climbing for several years. I tried to refinance the RV in 1982 and was told by the bank what a "low" interest rate I already had. They couldn't do any better.
What about 1787-1788? What drove the country to accept a radical new
Constitution?
A sacred knot binds the American people. I've showed the dangers if the knot is
severed by ambition or avarice, by jealousy or misrepresentation.
I next discuss truths that have not been mentioned. This may seem tedious, but this is the most important subject to free people. There's a lot of information, and sophistry has increased the difficulties. I want to both simplify and thoroughly discuss the issues.
I will next discuss why the present Confederation cannot preserve the Union.
Both opponents and supporters of the new Constitution agree this is true. Our
national system has significant imperfections. We need to be rescued from
impending anarchy.
Facts--not speculation--support this opinion. Even the people whose bad policies have made our dangerous situation even worse reluctantly agree that there are defects in the organization of our federal government. Intelligent friends of the Union point out and regret these defects.
We are close to total national humiliation. We have experienced nearly everything that can wound the pride or degrade the character of an independent nation:
We violate our commitments. During the war, we borrowed money from foreigners and our own citizens, but we don't have a plan to repay them.
We are entitled by nature and treaty to navigate the Mississippi, but Spain bans us. This should have been corrected a long time ago. But the Union has no troops, nor treasury, nor government to repel an aggressor. We can’t even protest with dignity.
During dangerous times, public credit is absolutely necessary. But we seem to
have decided it's impossible.
Commerce is important to our national wealth; ours has totally deteriorated.
Our government is so weak that foreign governments don’t need to negotiate with us. Our ambassadors only imitate representatives of a sovereign nation.
A dramatic decrease in land value is a symptom of national distress. The price of improved land is much lower than can be accounted for by the quantity of wasteland on the market. Lack of private and public confidence has depreciated property.
Private credit supports industry. But credit is at its lowest because of
insecurity, not a scarcity of money.
Is there any type of national disorder, poverty, and insignificance that does
not form a part of the dark list of our public misfortunes? Yet we are blessed
with many natural advantages.
By substituting the word "our" for the words "the proposed", the next
paragraph could describe our current situation.
The people who now oppose the proposed Constitution brought us to this sad
situation. After leading us to the brink of a precipice, they seem resolved to
plunge us into the abyss.
I believe that the country, today, needs the Constitution as much as it was
needed in 1787. By returning to a constitutional federal government, the country
can return to being the greatest country in the history of the world.
Let us make a firm stand for our safety, our tranquility, our dignity, our
reputation. Let us break the fatal charm that has seduced us from the paths of
felicity and prosperity. Federalist Paper #15 [1-4]*
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