In both these cases, the court means distinctly to say that, after the parties to a contract have agreed upon the number of dollars to be paid, congress has power to reduce the value of the dollar, and authorize all debtors to pay the less valuable dollar, instead of the one agreed on.
Spooner argues that Congress can undermine contracts by changing the value of currency, affecting agreements made.
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And nobody is bound to take the least notice of them, unless it be to trample them under foot, as usurpations.
It was a principle of the Common Law, as it is of the law of nature, and of common sense, that no man can be taxed without his personal consent.
The people considered their jurisprudence as a part of their inheritance.
Juries would refuse to enforce a tax against a man who had never agreed to pay it.