Part 4 of The U.S. Constitution and Money is now available here and here. This 39-page excursion into finance, history, and law covers the First and Second Banks of the United States, which were the proto-central banks of the time. Marshall’s expansionary interpretation (in McCulloch v. Maryland) of the Necessary and Proper Clause is given a going over. The anti-federalists knew what was coming. Hamilton’s report on a national bank and his debate with Jefferson and Madison are covered. The unconstitutionality of a federal power to incorporate is looked at in detail. Then too there’s quite a bit on the financial side of what was going on, including the fractional-reserve end of things. Lots of meat here, including material you have never seen before, drawn from obscure texts and journals and from previously unexplored regions of my brain.

The Best of Michael S. Rozeff