Papers of John Adams, volume 20
r17, 89
In your letter of the 18th of August,
you ask why we may not have as much paper in circulation in proportion to our
circulating silver and gold, as Great Britain has in proportion to hers?1 Give me leave to answer you without hesitation.
We may as soon as we shall have any credit.— We have none. No man of common sense will
trust us. As soon as an unlimited democracy tyrannized over the rich, no man of property
was safe. If ever an unlimited Aristocracy shall tyrannize over the poor, and the
moderately rich at once, the greater portion of society will not dare to trust the less.
But if a government well ordered mixed and counterpoised should take place, and in
consequence of it the commandment Thou shalt not steal, be
observed, then and not till then you may circulate what paper you may find necessary—
But I doubt very much whether our circumstances will require any paper at all. The cash
paid in imposts, will immediately be paid to creditors and by them circulated in
society
I am sir &
LbC in CA’s hand (Adams Papers); internal address: “Judge Sullivan.”; APM Reel 115.
Sullivan, who had successfully defended participants in Shays’
Rebellion, was anxious to address the ongoing scarcity of paper currency (Richards, Shays’s Rebellion
, p. 41). He wrote to JA on 18 Aug.,
comparing America’s financial plight with that of Britain and suggesting the creation
of a national bank for economic relief: “I do not like private Banks because it
enriches private men & does no good to the public, but I beleive a public bank may
Emit paper equal to the money we possess. the people when pressed for Money will be
prone to blame the Government for their distresses” (Adams Papers).