Anniversary Day: 240 Years Since the Boston Tea Party; 100 Years of the Fed

On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty - disguised as Mohawk Indians,dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor as a nonviolent political protest of the Tea Act of 1773. The action, known as the "Boston Tea Party" is widely recognized as the initial protest of American colonists against the oppressive "taxation without representation" of the British crown which resulted in the Revolutionary War and the founding of the new Republic of the United States of America.

140 years, and note, not to the day, but one week later, on December 23, 2013, the Federal Reserve was officially chartered as the nation's central bank by enactment of the Federal Reserve Act.

The Boston Tea Party was the beginning of the movement which would evolve into a democratic republic which guaranteed the inalienable rights of its citizens; the creation of the Federal Reserve put the same nation's financial system under the control of a global banking oligarchy.

Sadly, the current governors of the Fed chose today to commemorate their founding, probably because the 23rd would be too "inconvenient" a date (too close to Christmas) for the stuffy old men and women.

It's reasonable to compare and contrast the success of the two moments in history. While most Americans take their rights for granted, even though they've been severely eroded by a monolithic federal government over the years, the Federal Reserve can best be described as a monumental failure for the economy of individuals but a rousing success for the secretive interests which control it. Over its nearly 100 years, the Federal Reserve has managed to induce several financial panics and crises including the Great Depression, innumerable recessions, various booms, busts and bubbles, a world war, and the devaluation of the US currency by more than 90 percent.

Smashing, absolutely smashing. And one wonders why December 16 is not a national holiday in commemoration of the Boston Tea Party and the 23rd a national day of mourning for the death of our currency.

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