I just heard this quote by lincoln:
The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
Supposedly this was made in response to the National Bank Act of 1863, and the person who cited this quote was using it to demonstrate Lincoln's contempt for a centralized bank.
This confused me because Lincoln was always a huge proponent of Central Banking. I've searched and haven't found the context in which the quote was made. It would seem like lincoln was actually adressing decentralized banking system for not working exclusively for government interests. Does anyone have any information to expand on this?
Oops, clicked wrong button.
Anyhow, check this limk for a possible answer: http://www.ratical.org/corporations/Lincoln.html
We are the soldiers for righteousnessAnd we are not sent here by the politicians you drink with - L. Dube, rip
there is a sizeable sub-class of politicians who are opportunistic and will say whatever to whichever audience if they figure it would help them to do so.perhaps lincoln was in such a camp. i submit that as one theory.
Where there is no property there is no justice; a proposition as certain as any demonstration in Euclid
Fools! not to see that what they madly desire would be a calamity to them as no hands but their own could bring
It was quoted by some guy on the recent Alex Jones documentary.
The quote conveys contempt for money. It would seem Mr Lincoln would favor a money that could be controlled and manipulated for the purposes of "the people".
I think he said this when the 'money power' refused to offer him reasonable rates to finance the war against the southern states and was trying to sell the people on the greenbacks?
He also was evidently not in favor of emancipation of the slaves untill it could be used as a tool against the south during the war.
The strategy of the money powers' was that of Lincoln's, divide and conquer. Guess they both won?
Lincoln's perspective on central banking is mentioned in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We__qsABkpM
That documentary is where I heard the quote, and why I asked If anyone could clarify the context.
Thanks, that clarified a lot. I'm going to see if the sources in that article are available online.
Unfortunately there is no reason to think that Lincoln ever wrote that letter to which the article in the link refers:http://www.illinoishistory.gov/facsimiles.htmWhen young representative Lincoln had the chance, he came down on the side of a National Bank as opposed to the Sub-Treasury system. The proponents of Central Bank were very much opposed to the Sub-Treasury idea.http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, volume 1, speech on the Sub-Treasury, December 26, 1839.http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/7897401/mcgeer/subtreasury.html
Senator Benton in the Senate, in 1841, on occassion of the death of the Independent Treasury (also referred to as Sub-Treasury)
http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/7897401/benton/benton_65.html
"Who is it then that objects to it ? Broken banks, and their political confederates, are the clamorers against it. Banks which wish to make their paper a public currency : politicians who wish a national bank as a machine to rule the country. These banks, and these politicians, are the sole clamorers against the hard-money clause in the sub-treasury system : they alone clamor for paper money."
--And young Lincoln was one of these political confederates, who wished for a machine to rule the country.
This Lincoln myth has been created by the Greenbackers: e.g. the "Money Masters" documentary people. Reality differs. From the very start of his political career, Lincoln was pro-inflation, pro-protectionism, pro-industrial subsidies, pro-"internal improvements" - the standard corporatist Republican platform in the 19th century. He was definitely not an opponent of central banking - hence his support for the National Banking Acts during the war, which created a system of highly cartelized banking different from central banking only by degree. Not to mention that, personally, Lincoln was a bigtime corporate R&R lawyer, very much a corporate stooge of the same sort that grace the halls of power today - a far cry from the defender of the people and enemy of the special interests that the Greenbackers make him out to be. And their entire thesis is based on the idea that central banking is bad, but the State printing money directly is good, which is ridiculous, and a distinction without a difference.
What people need to understand about Abraham Lincoln is that he saw himself the heir of Henry Clay in promoting the "American System", which was derived from Alexander Hamilton's economic plan.
This economic ideology found three things necessary:
Of course, during the Civil War, both sides inflated heavily, but the south actually inflating far more than the north. Still, the south was opposed to Lincoln's banking views of consolidation, which were further implemented by the National Banking Act of 1863.
So when is the "quote" going to be un-verified ?
The story of legal tender treasury notes of February 25, 1862
How do you prove that someone didn't say something? You can't, hence the burden is on those making the positive claim.