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And again, it
was Jeffersonian South Carolinians that angered the new central government
and stirred up patriotic
passions in the new colonies.
Be advised we will most
likely see the re-appearance of "hard times" tokens. The minting of silver Liberty Dollar coins by the imprisoned Bernard von Nothaus was our first effort, but was crushed by our own government's tyranny. Bankers will use their government enforcers to make war on any substitutes to their counterfeit dollar. Remember the words of John D.
Rockefeller: "Competition is a sin."
 
von Nothaus Liberty Dollars
America’s First Undeclared
War
[excerpted from Coin
Stories]
Although most people know
that France was our ally towards
the end of the Revolutionary War,
what they don’t know is that just a few years later, France also became our
enemy in our first undeclared war against another country. France
suffered its own revolution in 1789 that overthrew the monarchy.
In 1797, France was run by a group of five men known
as The Directory. The Directory wanted the United
States to be an ally of theirs in a war against Great Britain. George
Washington, on the other hand, wanted
the United States to stay neutral.
In 1794, the United States signed
Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain which angered France. The
French, in turn, unleashed
their navy and privateers on American
shipping.
Demand for Tribute
It was these events that led
Pinckney [of Charleston, SC]
and the others to travel
to France to try to address
the French grievances. When
they got to France they were kept
waiting by the French Foreign
Minister Talleyrand. During
this time, they were approached by three individuals, later identified as X, Y, and Z
in documents. Messengers X, Y, and Z informed the American party that
before any negotiations could begin, the United States would
have to pay the five members
of The Directory $50,000 each and pay tribute to France in the form
of a $10,000,000 loan. These demands are what prompted Pinckney’s “not a sixpence”
response.
Pinckney’s Not the Man!
The history regarding the
origin of the “millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” phrase has
been somewhat controversial
over the years. From shortly after Pinckney’s trip to France, until
fairly recently, Pinckney was given credit for giving this “not one
cent” reply to the French. Pinckney himself is said to have denied ever uttering
the phrase in place of his “not a sixpence” response. In an
October 1797 letter from Pinckney to Timothy
Pickering, Pinckney wrote
that he had replied to the French with the “not a sixpence”
phrase.
So where did the phrase
“Millions for defense, but not one cent for
tribute” come from?
Harper's the
Man!
Shortly after returning from France, John
Marshall, who would eventually become the 4th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court, was honored at a dinner in Philadelphia on
the night of June 18, 1798. Representative
Robert Goodloe Harper of South Carolina, Chairman
of the Ways and Means Committee, was one of those present at the dinner. Charles Pinckney was also present.
The next day a newspaper recorded the toasts that were given
to John Marshall at the dinner
the night before. The toast from
Robert Goodloe Harper was
stated as “Millions for defense,
but not a cent for tribute!” It wasn’t
long before people, and later
historians, had taken these words
and placed them in the mouth of Charles Pinckney for his reply to the French.
Barbary Pirates
Just a few years later, President Thomas Jefferson again
took up the cry
“Millions for defense, but not one cent for
tribute” in regard to the Barbary States of
Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis. These
Barbary “pirates” demanded
tribute from the United States in order to keep them from attacking
American shipping. The capture and enslavement of
the crew of the USS Philadelphia by Tripoli appalled most Americans. A newspaper known to be a strong supporter of Thomas Jefferson ran
an article with the headline “Millions for Defense, but not a Cent for Tribute” thus picking up the rallying cry once again.
This Barbary hostage crisis was the equivalent in its day to the Iran hostage crisis at the end of the Carter
Administration some 175 years
later. The resulting military action, specifically
the battle of Derne, led to the Tripoli portion of the phrase “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores
of Tripoli” in The Marine Corps’ Hymn.
Hard Times
By 1837, there were still many Americans
that remembered the cry “Millions for defense,
but not one cent for tribute”. So it is not surprising that this would
end up on many Hard Times tokens.
These “hard times” came about as a result of President Andrew Jackson’s economic policies. These policies, which included the President’s
stand against the Second Bank of the United States,
certainly led to the
Panic of 1837 and a resulting shortage
of coinage due to hoarding.
The production of Hard Times tokens was a direct response to help solve this nation's
coin shortage during this time.
Only an idiot would not be able to equate this merry
song from 175 years ago with
today's tyranny!
An 1837 Song for
Hard Times Token Collectors
[during
this period Pennsylvania was the manufacturing region of the
country...CV]
Tune - "Royal Charlie."
Hard times! - Hard times! - is now
the cry,
The country's in confusion;
The Banks have stopped! - and still
they try
To mystify delusion;
They give US trash,
And keep the cash
To send across the
waters,
To pay for things
They bought from Kings,
To gull our sons
and daughters! -
{Chorus}
Then to the Polls! - ye
noble souls! -
The Banks may cry for quarters!
But hear their doom - THEY SHALL RESUME,
Or forfeit all their charters!
Shall Corporations rule
the soil,
That Washington defended?
Must honest people sweat and toil,
And see their rights "suspended?"
Must we be slaves,
To pamper knaves
Shall Bankers be our masters?
Must all our pay,
From day to day,
Be nothing but shin-plasters?
Then to the Polls! - ye
noble souls! -
The Banks may cry for quarters!
But hear their doom - THEY SHALL RESUME,
Or forfeit all their
charters!
Brave Jackson strove to keep
us free,
He Lov'd his country dearly,
His "sound metallic currency"
Was not a "promise" merely:
If "Little Van's"
An honest man,
He'll imitate the Hero,
And send the whigs,
To dance their jigs,
At least - as low as Zero!
Then to the Polls! - ye
noble souls! -
The Banks may cry for quarters!
But hear their doom - THEY SHALL RESUME,
Or forfeit all their
charters!
As Congress is about to meet,
Upon a great occasion,
May no unholy scheme defeat
The common expectation: -
If Martin will
Be honest still,
The scenes which now are tragic, -
Must disappear
Before a year,
For honesty is "magic!!" -
Then to the Polls! - ye
noble souls! -
The Banks may cry for quarters!
But hear their doom - THEY SHALL RESUME,
Or forfeit all their
charters!
The "Empire State" may play her pranks,
And e'en the "Old Dominion,"
May white wash all her broken Banks
Regardless of opinion:
The Keystone State
Won't hesitate,
Tho' ills fall thick upon
her,
To still maintain,
Without a stain,
Her high and "sacred
honor."
Then to the Polls! - ye
noble souls! -
The Banks may cry for quarters!
But hear their doom - THEY SHALL RESUME,
Or forfeit all their
charters!
We duly understand our rights,
The rights of Law, and Nature: -
We'll vote no more for paper
kites,
To fill our Legislature: -
For just Reform
We'll brave the storm,
Bold as Columbia's Seamen,
We'll do or die -
For Liberty, -
And prove that we are Freemen!!
Then to the Polls! - ye
noble souls! -
The Banks may cry for quarters!
But hear their doom - THEY SHALL RESUME,
Or forfeit all their
charters!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
The song can be found under
Popular Melodies on page
2 of the September 5, 1837 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania newspaper The
Republican Compiler. It is listed
as originally "by the editor of The Mountaineer." Source for song
Sources
Coin Stories
Appleby,
Joyce. Thomas Jefferson. Macmillan, 2003.
Brown,
Everit and Albert Strauss. A Dictionary of American Politics: Comprising
Accounts of Political Parties, Measures and Men . . .etc. A.L. Burt,
1907.
Editor.
“Letters to the Editor,” Time Magazine (April 12, 1937).
Keyes,
Ralph. The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. St.
Martin's Griffin, 2006.
Marrota, Michael E. "Hard Times Tokens." (May 31, 1994) http://www.limunltd.com/numismatica/articles/...mes-tokens.html
(accessed June 4, 2009). Originally appeared in Topic 43 of the Well Collectibles Conference.
Meriwether,
Colyer. Publications of the Southern History Association, v. 4.
Southern History Association, 1900.
Rulau,
Russell. Hard Times Tokens: 1832-1844, 6th Ed. Krause Publications,
1996.
Realize for a moment. If a merchant
cheated on the stated metal weight, or refused redemption for goods in his shop. Being a local businessman, the community
wouldn't accept his tokens and most likely he
would be bankrupted as he should be!
Read more: http://chasvoice.blogspot.com/2012/06/americas-first-undeclared-war-hard.html#ixzz1ySMQCmKw
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