1789, THE US DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY IS FOUNDED

Today, The Grandma has been reading about one of the most important American institutions, the Department of the Treasury, that was founded on a day like today in 1789.

The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department.

The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint. These two agencies are responsible for printing all paper currency and coins, while the treasury executes its circulation in the domestic fiscal system.

The USDT collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service; manages U.S. government debt instruments; licenses and supervises banks and thrift institutions; and advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of fiscal policy. 

The department is administered by the secretary of the treasury, who is a member of the Cabinet. The treasurer of the United States has limited statutory duties, but advises the Secretary on various matters such as coinage and currency production. Signatures of both officials appear on all Federal Reserve notes.

Established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue, the first secretary of the treasury was Alexander Hamilton, sworn into office on September 11.

Hamilton was appointed by President George Washington on the recommendation of Robert Morris, Washington's first choice for the position, who had declined the appointment. Hamilton established the nation's early financial system and for several years was a major presence in Washington's administration.

The office is customarily referred to as Treasury, solely, without any preceding article, as a remnant of the country's transition from British to American English during the late 18th century. Hamilton's portrait appears on the obverse of the ten-dollar bill, while the Treasury Department building is depicted on the reverse.

More information: U.S. Department of the Treasury

The history of the Department of the Treasury began in the turmoil of the American Revolution, when the Continental Congress at Philadelphia deliberated the crucial issue of financing a war of independence against Great Britain.

The Congress had no power to levy and collect taxes, nor was there a tangible basis for securing funds from foreign investors or governments. The delegates resolved to issue paper money in the form of bills of credit, promising redemption in coin on faith in the revolutionary cause.

The First Congress of the United States was called to convene in New York on March 4, 1789, marking the beginning of government under the Constitution. 

On September 2, 1789, Congress created a permanent institution for the management of government finances.

The basic functions of the Department of the Treasury mainly include:

-Producing all currency and coinage of the U.S.;

-Collecting taxes, duties and money paid to and due to the U.S.;

-Paying all bills of the U.S.;

-Managing the federal finances;

-Managing government accounts and the United States public debt;

-Supervising national banks and thrift institutions;

-Advising on domestic and international financial, monetary, economic, trade and tax policy (fiscal policy being the sum of these);

-Enforcing federal finance and tax laws;

-Investigating and prosecuting tax evaders;

-Publishing statistical reports.

More information: Twitter-U.S.Department of the Treasury

 I sincerely believe that banking establishments
are more dangerous than standing armies,
and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity,
under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.

Thomas Jefferson