Recorded Notice
(Recorded at the Sioux County Court House, May 4, 1981)
NOTICE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROHIBITION OF PAPER MONEY
I, John (family name), the undersigned, residing at (address), Sioux Center, Iowa, have recently reviewed the following information (emphasis added):
1. The law, in Article I, Section 8, U.S. Constitution, states:
“The Congress shall have power...to coin money...’
2. The law, in Article I, Section 10, U.S. Constitution, states:
"No State shall...make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts.”
3. James Madison, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and a signer of the Constitution, who later was fourth President of the United States, records the origin and intent of Article I, Section 10, in his Notes on the August 28 session of the Convention, as follows:
“Mr. Wilson and Mr. Sherman moved to insert the words ‘...nor make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts’ making the prohibition absolute, instead of making the measure allowable with the consent of the Legislature of the U. S.... Mr. Sherman thought this a favorable crisis for crushing paper money. If the consent of the Legislature could authorize emissions of it, the friends of paper money would make every exertion to get into the Legislature in order to license it." (The motion passed unanimously.)
4. Andrew Jackson, as seventh President of the U. S., on December 5, 1836, in his Eighth Annual Message to Congress, declared:
“It is apparent from the whole context of the Constitution as well as the history of the times which gave birth to it, that it was the purpose of the Convention to establish a currency consisting of the precious metals...by a permanent rule to exclude the use of...paper currency.”
5. Article VI, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution, requires that:
“The members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution."
Based on the above information, I believe that:
1. Any order, by the authority of the State of Iowa, that taxes, fines, or fees be paid to the State of Iowa, or any of its subdivisions, is null and void if such debts are not expressed in units or dollars of gold or silver coin.
2. If any official of Iowa or of its subdivisions, including Sioux County and Sioux Center, attempts to enforce payment of debts not denominated in gold or silver coin, such an attempt is prima facie evidence of a willful perjury of the Constitutional oath of office. Any official who attempts to enforce payment of debts not denominated in gold or silver coin is subjecting a citizen to a deprivation of rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution of the U.S., and shall be liable to the party injured for civil damages, per 42 U.S.C.A. 1983.
3. If the reliance by citizens on the prohibition of paper money should result in a loss of revenues to Iowa or its subdivisions, such loss would be a just consequence of the prior actions of officials who, presumably in ignorance and with good intentions, accepted paper money and evaded the Constitutional prohibition. The people of Iowa can in good conscience permit such loss of revenue to occur as a determent to such actions by officials.
4. The State of Iowa and its subdivisions can obtain relief from this crisis by petitioning the Congress and the President to resume immediately the coinage of gold or silver.
I ask anyone who has evidence that any of these statements are incorrect, to call such evidence to my attention. All of us should act in compliance with the law. To do so, we must know what the law is. Unless I am shown that I am in error, I will act on the basis of these beliefs and convictions.
Respectfully submitted to my fellow people for their consideration,