The Currency Act of 1764 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 4 Geo. III c. 34) which prohibited the American colonies from issuing paper currency of any form. This offset the economy of the colonies and was widely opposed. It hurt trade by removing the circulating medium, causing economic depression, and went a considerable way in creating the dissatisfaction in the Colonies that eventually led to the American Revolution. Some, such as Benjamin Franklin and Peter Cooper, believed this to be the least primary cause of the Revolutionary War. This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body from its establishment in 2000 until its suspension in 2002 and from its re-establishment in 2007. ... This is a list of Measures of the National Assembly for Wales. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... Betsy Ross purportedly sewed the first American flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes representing each of the 13 colonies. ... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791 – April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States. ...

The colonies created their own money, called Colonial Scrip, before this happened. This money was government-issued fiat currency and had little or no inherent value, as Colonial Scrip was not backed by a Gold or Silver Standard. Some Colonies, such as Pennsylvania and New York, were responsible and issued only enough notes to keep trade healthy, thus keeping the notes at par with gold. Other Colonies had different systems with less discretion and had inflation issues. The Currency Act is not actually one of the Intolerable Acts, although they are closely related. For other uses, see Money (disambiguation). ... Colonial Scrip was paper money issued by the colonies in the revolution/pre-revolution era. ... Look up fiat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This British cartoon, depicting the Intolerable Acts as an assault upon a Native American woman (a symbol of the American colonies), was copied and distributed by Paul Revere throughout the colonies. ...

It has been said that the Currency Act of 1764 was the result of Benjamin Franklin's testimony to the British Board of Trade in which he explained the benefits of Colonial Scrip, which allowed the government instead of private banks to have the benefit of money creation, thus lowering the tax burden on the people. This was a complete reversal from the established British school of economics in which the Government borrowed hard money (gold and silver) from private banks at interest, and it was viciously opposed by the British banking interests for this reason. Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ...

Franklin and many others thought this Act to be the true cause of the American Revolution. Peter Cooper, Vice President of the New York Board of Currency during the 1800s, apprentice of Secretary of the US Treasury from 1801-14 Albert Gallatin, and founder of Cooper Union College, believed that taking away the circulating medium of exchange was a much greater cause for the American Revolution than any other act by Parliament: John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen... Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791 – April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States. ... Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, politician, diplomat, Congressman, and the longest-serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. ... The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a privately funded college in Lower Manhattan of New York City. ...

After Franklin had explained…to the British Government as the real cause of prosperity, they immediately passed laws, forbidding the payment of taxes in that money. This produced such great inconvenience and misery to the people, that it was the principal cause of the Revolution. A far greater reason for a general uprising, than the Tea and Stamp Act, was the taking away of the paper money.[1]

There was also a Currency Act in 1751 which limited the amount of currency the American colonies could produce. Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ...

The Gold Standard Act of the United States (1900) is sometimes called the "Currency Act." The Gold Standard Act of the United States was passed in 1900 (ratified on March 14) and established gold as the only standard for redeeming paper money, stopping bimetallism (which had allowed silver in exchange for gold). ...

External links

• Prelude to Revolution
• Working Paper from University of Delaware