alues but upon population, in estimating which slaves should be
counted at three-fifths of their number. In the course of three years
thereafter only two States accepted the proposals in full, seven agreed
to them in part, and four failed to act at all. Congress in despair then
made a further representation to the States upon the critical condition
of the finances and accompanied this with an urgent appeal, which
resulted in all the States except New York agreeing to the proposed
impost. But the refusal of one State was sufficient to block the
whole measure, and there was no further hope for a treasury that was
practically bankrupt. In five years Congress had received less than two
and one-half million dollars from requisitions, and for the fourteen
months ending January 1, 1786, the income was at the rate of less
than $375,000 a year, which was not enough, as a committee of Congress
reported, "for the bare maintenance of the Federal Government on the
most economical establishment and in time of profound peace." In fact,
the income was not sufficient even to meet the interest on the foreign
debt.

In the absence of other means of obtaining funds Congress had resorted
early to the unfortunate expedient of issuing paper money based solely
on the good faith of the States to redeem it. This fiat money held its
value for some little time; then it began to shrink and, once started
on the downward path, its fall was rapid. Congress tried to meet the
emergency by issuing paper in increasing quantities until the inevitable
happened: the paper money ceased to have any value and practically
disappeared from circulation. Jefferson said that by the end of 1781
one thousand dollars of Continental scrip was worth about one dollar in
specie.

The States had already issued paper money of their own, and their
experience ought to have taught them a lesson, but with the coming of
hard times after the war, they once more proposed by issuing paper to
relieve the "scarcity of money" which was commonly supposed to be one
of the principal evils of the day. In 1785 and 1786 paper money parties
appeared in almost all the States. In some of these the conservative
element was strong enough to prevent action, but in others the movement
had to run its fatal course. The futility of what they were doing should
have been revealed to all concerned by proposals seriously made that the
paper money which was issued should depreciate at a regular rate each