The $5 a day Henry Ford paid his workers...

in 1914 is worth more than double what the average worker earns today!

Henry Ford shocked many by offering to pay his employees $5 a day (January 3rd 1914). This, when the average farm hand at the time made about $1 a day and the average manufacturing worker about $2.34 for a 9-hr workday. It sounds almost unbelievable but if they had a CPI back in those days it would have been zero and hadn't changed in nearly 120 years! There had been some upheavals over the many years but, essentially, $1 in 1914 was equal to $1 in 1791, 123 years earlier. Can you imagine that?!

The value of money had not been diminished by a central bank. America didn't have one. We had two experiments with the First Bank of the United States 1791-1811 (modeled after the Bank of England). It was given a 20 year charter. It's no coincidence that after the American government did not renew it's charter in 1811, England declared War. The War of 1812.

In 1811, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, effectively, the Bank of England, was not amused with the American government and stated, "Either the application for renewal of the charter is granted, or the United States will find itself involved in a most disastrous war." However the United States stood firm and the Charter was not renewed, which caused Nathan Mayer Rothschild to issue another threat, "Teach those impudent Americans a lesson. Bring them back to colonial status." So in 1812, backed by Rothschild money, and Nathan Mayer Rothschild's orders, the British declared war on the United States. The Rothschild plan was to cause the United States to build up such a debt in fighting this war that they would have to surrender and allow the charter for the Rothschild owned First Bank of the United States to be renewed.

Soon after the War of 1812 ended, a second bank, was given another 20 year charter. The Second Bank of the United States.
Who do you think really won that War?


Andrew Jackson, the American hero of the War of 1812 and the 7th President, killed the second bank in 1836. (On his tomb, it says "I killed the bank"). He was also the last president to pay off the national debt (January 8, 1836 the national debt was $0). It certainly should also be noted that it was Andrew Jackson who founded the Democratic Party that vehemently despised the idea of a Central Bank.

A cartoon depicting Andrew Jackson beating bank the many headed snake of the Bank of the United States.

America went without any national banks until the National Banking Act of 1863. Prior to that, only state chartered banks existed... unfortunately many were not legitimate. They were supposed to keep a reserve of assets, primarily gold and silver, that secured their loans. However, many would cheat and the average lifespan of a bank was about five years. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, unwilling to borrow money from foreign banks with exorbitant interest, directed the US Treasury to issue it's own paper currency. What would be called "greenbacks". This money was not backed by gold or silver but was accepted by the people. Despite that, many believe what Abe Lincoln (I'm not defending Abe Lincoln) did was unconstitutional or at least unlawful (the Coinage Act of 1792), he did understand how currency could be utilized. Even though the Civil War was extremely costly, American's paid no interest on the money that was created to pay for the War. After the war the abundance of available and widely accepted currency allowed for a rapid expansion of the economy. “The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.”~Abe Lincoln

The Coinage Act of 1873 (also known as the "Crime of 73" threw a new twist into the American monetary system. Adopting a de facto gold standard (instead of the bi-metal standard mentioned in the Constitution). However, although officially the greenback was recalled, greenbacks remained in circulation into the 1890s. The gold standard was not well received. Being there is a finite amount of gold in very few hands, it allowed manipulation. Which meant as gold prices fluctuated, banks would recall loans (or so they said) to equate their lending to their reserves. This induced panics. Which meant that wealthy elite could create havoc and pick winners and losers among their debtors.

In 1896 William Jennings Bryant vying for the Democratic nomination for President gave a speech known "The Cross of Gold Speech" where he advocating for a bi-metal standard (gold and silver). The speech ended with... "Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." America had a wealth of silver and by utilizing silver, America could expand it's money supply and allow a more equitable distribution of wealth. Unfortunately, America officially adopted a Gold standard in 1900. If you've ever seen the 'Wizard of Oz', William Jennings Bryant is said to be the personification of the Cowardly Lion... the yellow brick road... represented gold... and Dorthy's slippers, acquired from the Wicked Witch of the East (bankers and commercial interests) were silver.

The Secret of Oz


In 1907,soon after the adoption of the Gold standard... there was an economic panic. This was engineered by a group of industrialist (led by J.P. Morgan) that then contrived the third and final Bank of the United States. The Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve Act was passed by the House on December 22, 1913 (298-60, 76 not present, only two Democrats voted against) while many had already left for Christmas and on December 23, 1913 by the Senate (43-25, 27 not present, no Democrats voted against it) and was signed soon after by a Democrat, President Woodrow Wilson (the party of Andrew Jackson had come a long way!). It had a open ended charter. It's two objectives were to ensure full employment and control inflation (something few had seen prior to the Gold Standard) and supposedly this institution would prevent future panics. It opened it's doors in 1914. There would be two Depressions in the next 15 years!

Woodrow Wilson would later say... "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by it system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world. No longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but of Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."

Which brings us back to Henry Ford. A dollar in Henry Ford's 1914 was worth a great deal more than today. And there was also no income tax! People actually got to keep what they earned!  If you took what Henry Ford paid his initial employees... $5 a day it would amount to an annual income of approximately $45,000 in 2010 Federal Reserve Notes today. If you include all the taxes that everyone pays today...that $5 a day would actually amount to an annual salary of about $90,000. Which means today, the average American family works for less than half of what the average entry worker starting a job at Ford Motor did in 1914. 

You might also be interested to know that the annual Harvard tuition in 1914 was... $100 (one month's wages)! A house... $2000-4000( a year to two years of wages). A car... a Model T $550 ($440 in 1915, $360 in 1916 (18, 15, 12 weeks of wages))! Gas... 14.5 cents a gallon.

Henry Ford, a man who only had a grade school education, understood the power of a central bank and fiat currency. "It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." - Thomas Jefferson 1816

The War of Independence was not really about independence from the King of England... it was about independence from him and his backers at The Bank of England. Through corruption and deception these interests have continued to wage War on America economically. Through a central bank, debts and fighting Wars. And when a central bank didn't exist, through manipulation of interests, industries and politicians to get things like the gold standard implemented in 1873 and 1900. And finally the Federal Reserve in 1913. And when the bank was in place... War and Welfare became an excellent way to create debt and keep people looking the other way. It must make them smile every time they hear the words! War on Terror, War on Drugs, War on Poverty... and on and on.

What fools we've become!




Some of my resources:

The First Bank of the United States

The Second Bank of the United States

The Federal Reserves' version of Banking History

The History of Banking Control in the United States

A Fake Banking History of the United States

Secrets of the Bank of England revealed 

The French Connection - The House of Rothchild 

War is a Racket 

The Moneymasters

Update: After some comments about the "Secret of Oz" and some of the conclusions by the host. I am adding one more video. My interest in the "Secret of Oz" was not necessarily the conclusions drawn but to show that the banking interests have been involved throughout the history of our country. This video "Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve" also does discuss in depth our monetary history. However, I will also add that the allegory of the Wizard of Oz has a distinct value in creating a atmosphere to introducing people to a discussion about monetary policy that many people might not ever discuss.