In order to feed and clothe the army and pay
its officers and soldiers, it was obliged to _ask_ for money from
the several states, and hardly ever got as much as was needed. It was
obliged to borrow millions of dollars from France and Holland, and to
issue promissory notes which soon became worthless. After the war was
over it became clear that this so-called government could neither
preserve order nor pay its debts, and accordingly it ceased to be
respected either at home or abroad, and it became necessary for the
American people to adopt a new form of government. Between the old
Continental Congress and the government under which we have lived
since 1789, the differences were many; but by far the most essential
difference was that the new government could raise money by taxation,
and was thus enabled properly to carry on the work of governing.
If we are in any doubt as to what is really the government of some
particular country, we cannot do better than observe what person or
persons in that country are clothed with authority to tax the people.
Mere names, as customarily applied to governments, are apt to be
deceptive. Thus in the middle of the eighteenth century France and
England were both called "kingdoms;" but so far as kingly power was
concerned, Louis XV.
Pages:
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52