Nov/Dec 2021
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
P1 Depression of 1873
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P2 The Financial Corner
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P3 What is So and So in the Bible
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P4 Book Review
EDUCATION CENTRAL (Facts on America's Business, History, and Religion)
Message from the editor...
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Welcome to this edition of our educational newsletter, Education Central. We begin with this issue a section on America's Founding Fathers. As you can see to your right, the first Founding Father to be discussed is George Washington - a hero not just to those who lived during his time but hopefully to Americans today. He believed in the cause for freedom. He loved America! Below we continue our discussions on the economic panics endured by America. While such depressions had a wide impact on Americans at the time, many of these panics had long term consequences for the country - some impacting us today. Stay safe! Stay informed!
America's Founding Fathers George Washington - The History Behind the Man George Washington - the most celebrated American of the 18th century. A hero to many then. Was given the title of "the Father of the Country" in 1776. And for most Americans today, a revered man who among others not only championed the freedoms we have but risked his life in doing so. -
George Washington was born on February 11, 1731 (via the Washington family Bible). However, his birth date was changed to February 22, 1732 when two things happened: 1.
January 1st was adopted as the first day of the year, and
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The adoption of the Gregorian calendar, which deleted eleven days from the Julian calendar that was previously used.1
The Panic of 1873 Lets get in a time machine and travel back almost 150 years ago. We are now approaching September 1873. The Civil War had ended eight years earlier. President Ulysses S. Grant, the commanding general of the victorious Union forces, was president of the United States, having been elected in 1869. His platform focused on Reconstruction and the reconciling of the North and South. Working to ensure freedom for the slaves, he supported the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guaranteed the right to vote for freed African American slaves. "A man who felt he had been 'chosen' to save the Union financially during the Civil War and to build a northern transcontinental railroad." M. John Lubetkin Author, Jay Cooke's Gamble Jay Cooke was a leading banker. He was astute in addressing the financial issues associated with the Civil War. After the war, Cooke turned his focus on America's expansion westward, specifically the northwest. His company, Jay Cooke & Co., undertook the financing of the Northern Pacific railroad, which was designed to take passengers via railway from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. Cooke was not a railroad guru, but he saw an opportunity, as an investment banker, in the expansion of the railroad industry to the country's northwest marker. People were already traveling via railroads from Boston to San Francisco - why not the Northwest? Cooke was able to find many a buyer for the bonds he was selling as investment vehicles in the Pacific Northwest railroad. However, the U.S. economy began to slow in the beginning of 1873. While the railroad expansion across the U.S. was a major factor in the demise of the economy, the trigger to the economic collapse was the decision of the German government to back its currency with gold only. What does this mean? Well, a person could exchange the currency for whatever amount of gold that was deemed equal in value. The German currency had, for years, been backed by both gold and silver. Having a national currency backed only by gold meant an oversupply worldwide of silver. Doing so had a ripple effect, as such actions spread across Europe and into the United States where Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1873 that fazed out silver currency. Germany would face difficult times as its new monetary policy resulted in a money shortage at the same time as the country was having to deal with a financial, or speculative, bubble. Neighboring countries, such as Austria, were impacted. Austria's stock exchange crashed on May 9, 1873. In the United States, as a result of contracting the currency, the investors Cooke was pursuing
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Washington was born in a home on Pope's Creek, which was part of Bridges Creek Plantation (located in Westmoreland County).
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His parents' names were Augustine and Mary. George was one of six children born to his parents.
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He was educated at home by tutors, receiving education in math and business law. Was also taught Christianity.2
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Washington was twenty-two when he decided to enlist in the Army. He knew early on in life that he wanted to serve in the military.
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He was a private man from early on; known for his humility.
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Was a leader; his actions spoke louder than his words.
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He was forty-three when unanimously chosen to be commander-in-chief of the Army. He would travel to Boston in July to take command of the Continental Army.
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Ten years removed from the crafting of the U.S. Constitution, Washington left the presidency. In March 1797, having served two terms as President of the United States, he retired to Mount Vernon. Two years later, on December 14, 1799, he died.
"George Washington's Birthday." National Archives, 19 June 2019, www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington. 1
Lillback, Peter A. George Washington's Sacred Fire. Providence Forum Press, 2006. 2
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