What is a U.S. Dollar?

A dollar is merely a measurement of something, like a gallon or an ounce. It is not a substance by itself. You wouldn't go to a fast food restaurant and order "a 20oz" without defining what it was you wanted 20oz of, a Coke for example. Unfortunately, an uninformed public has just such a lack of understanding about our currency today. They think a Federal Reserve Note IS a dollar, when it merely is a representation of a dollar (and a poor one at that!).

United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8:

"The Congress shall have power� To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures�

United States Constitution, Article I, Section 10:

�No state shall� make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts�

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 9:

            �DOLLARS OR UNITS--each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver.�

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 12:

            �And be it further enacted, That the standard for all gold coins of the United States shall be eleven parts fine to one part alloy; and accordingly that eleven parts fine to one part alloy; and accordingly that eleven parts in twelve of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure gold, and the remaining one twelfth part of alloy; and the said alloy shall be composed of silver and copper, in such proportions not exceeding one half silver as shall be found convenient��

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 13:

            �And be it further enacted, That the standard for all silver coins of the United States, shall be one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts fine to one hundred and seventy-nine parts alloy; and accordingly that one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts in one thousand six hundred and sixty-four parts of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure silver, and the remaining one hundred and seventy-nine parts of alloy;  which alloy shall be wholly of copper.�

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 19:

            �And be it further enacted, That if any of the gold or silver coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint shall be debased or made worse as to the proportion of the fine gold or fine silver therein contained, or shall be of less weight or value than the same out to be pursuant to the directions of this act, through the default or with the connivance of any of the officers or persons who shall be employed at the said mint, for the purpose of profit or gain, or otherwise with a fraudulent intent,  and if any of the said officers or persons shall embezzle any of the metals which shall at any time be committed to their charge for the purpose of being coined, or any of the coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint, every such officer or person who shall commit any or either of the said offenses, shall be deemed guilty of felony,  and shall suffer death.�

Leviticus 19:35, NKJV

�You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin��

Deuteronomy 25:13-16, NKJV

�You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure��

Proverbs 11:1, 16:11, & 20:10, NKJV

�Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.�

�Honest weights and scales are the LORD�s; All the weights in the bag are His work.�

�Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.�

Our founding fathers understood the value and importance of real wealth, and a �just weight�. They based our currency on a denomination called a dollar and gave it a definition of 371.25 grains of pure silver or 24.75 grains of pure gold; with anything else punishable by death! These laws have never been repealed and still stand today.

In 1913 Congress unconstitutionally delegated its authority to regulate the value of money to the Federal Reserve, which is not a part of the United States Government. Federal Reserve Notes are also a fiat currency, meaning they are NOT backed by gold, silver, or any other form of tangible property or wealth and they do not represent just weights or measures, real money, or lawful currency. Before the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 our paper currency used to say �Dollars in Gold Coin Payable to the Bearer on Demand�. It was a certificate or title of property and real wealth that could be claimed at any bank or the U.S. Treasury. In 1914, after the Federal Reserve was created, a bank note said �Secured By United States Certificates Of Indebtedness Or One-Year Gold Notes, Deposited With The Treasurer Of The United States Of America�. It was redeemable in Treasury debt, but not gold. In 1934 gold as bullion or currency was unconstitutionally outlawed and made illegal for Americans to own (these restrictions were were abolished in 1975). Also in 1934, the Federal Reserve Note was changed to say �This Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts Public And Private And Is Redeemable In Lawful Money At The United States Treasury Or At Any Federal Reserve Bank�, proving that Federal Reserve Notes are indeed NOT lawful money, but Americans had no choice but to accept it as such since lawful money was �outlawed�. Today our �money� simply states �This Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts Public And Private�. Federal Reserve Notes are backed only by the "full faith and credit of the U.S. government� and nothing more. Here is a good site with pictures of our paper money and the changes it has gone through since the creation of the Federal Reserve: http://www.the-privateer.com/paper.html.

Because our currency is no longer tied to a gold or silver standard, there is nothing preventing the Federal Reserve from simply printing more money and causing inflation. It�s like doubling the money supply of every player in a Monopoly game; all it really does is cause the cost of the property to go up since the value of each player�s money has gone down. No real tangible property has been added to the game.

Since the creation of the Federal Reserve our money has lost 98% of its purchasing power due to inflation. The Federal Reserve Notes are not worth the 4.2 cents it costs to print them! So the next time someone holds up a $1 Federal Reserve Note as evidence of a dollar, consider this: how happy would you be if you ordered a coke at a fast food restaurant and they gave you an empty 20oz cup with no fountain machine in sight, saying the measurement WAS your soda?