The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

Content Warning: This section contains conspiracy theories about enslavement, the Civil War, and the origins of racist organizations.

Griffin examines the history of banking in the United States, beginning in the early days of the American colonies. Massachusetts issued fiat money to fund raids into Quebec. Other colonies followed resulting in massive inflation. British Parliament banned the issuance of fiat money by the colonies, and real coins came back into circulation resulting in prosperity. However, at the advent of the American Revolution, more money was printed to fund the war effort. The printed money expanded the money supply, and the new country was in serious financial distress at the end of the Revolution. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were aware of the serious problems caused by fiat money.

The ultimate decision by the Convention was to prohibit states from issuing fiat money. The Tenth Amendment states that any powers not specifically granted to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people. Since the states are prohibited from issuing fiat money and Congress isn’t given permission to, Griffin asserts that the appropriate interpretation is that no government in the US has the legal power to issue bills of credit.