The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States

The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States was created to achieve several goals. The Fed is to “keep inflation in check, maintain full employment, moderate the business cycle and contribute two achieving long-term growth.”1 While these objectives are clearly impossible to achieve, a need to provide economic stability in a world of rapid economic transition remains a realistic challenge through direct intervention verses a hands off approach. Even though the need for a central US Bank was apparent during the nations founding, the controversy of this bank can be found from the earliest times in the creation of the United States even to the present. The national founding that Thomas Jefferson foresaw, was a nation of loosely confederated yeomen farmers, while Alexander Hamilton envisioned the need of a strong federal government for mutual protection and cooperation. Because of these two differing views, this debate has continued in the national sphere of Jeffersonian verses Hamiltonian politics. The Fed has proved to be a controversial subject by many people from it’s founding, even up to today.

Modern central banking theory began to evolve in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries under the gold standard.2 The Federal Reserve was developed by people who based many of their ideas on the dominant position of the Bank of England before World War I.3 It should be understood that the foundations on the Federal Reserve were based on economic practicalities not on the political or administrative framework. The actualization of the Fed combined the unique American Experience using a blend of public and private, or centralized and decentralized, banking techniques in one organization. With the beginnings of the foundlings of the Federal Reserve cloaked in secrecy, and the Glass-Owen Bill being passed through the House of Representatives on December 22, 19134 and passed through the US Senate on December 23, 19135 only to be signed an hour later by President, Woodrow Wilson6 has been a subject of speculation since. Adding to the fuel of speculation was a seemingly glamorized account by Bertie Charles Forbes, of the secret meeting at J.P Morgan’s estate on Jekyll Island in 1910. This account was published three years after the Federal Reserve Act had been signed into law and published by the periodical called Current Opinion in 1916.

Picture a party of the nation’s greatest bankers stealing out of New York on a private railroad car under cover of darkness, stealthily hiding hundred of miles South, embarking on a mysterious launch, sneaking onto an island deserted by all but a few servants, living there a full week under such rigid secrecy that the names of not one of them was once mentioned lest the servants learn the identity and disclose to the world this strangest, most secret expedition in the history of American finance. . . . I am giving to the world, for the first time, the real story of how the famous Aldrich currency report, the foundation of our new currency system, was written. . . . The utmost secrecy was enjoined upon all. The public must not glean a hint of what was to be done. Senator Aldrich notified each one to go quietly into a private car of which the railroad had received orders to draw up on an unfrequented platform. . . .Nelson (Aldrich) had confided to Henry, Frank, Paul and Piatt that he was to keep them locked up at Jekyll Island, out of the rest of the world, until they had evolved and compiled a scientific currency system for the United States, the real birth of the present Federal Reserve System. . . . 7

Private or is that public centralized banking?

The Fed is a “decentralized central bank” governed by a seven-member board of Governors, called the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), consisting of the chairman and six other members of the Board of Governors appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate. The FOMC is made up of the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the presidents of the other regional banks. Meeting every six weeks to review the economy and determine what actions need to be taken by the New York Fed.8 While this structure may leave the impression that the Board of Governors holds power within the Fed, it is the Chairmen of the board who has the largest influence on the Fed’s monetary policy. “The Board represents the public sector, or governmental side of the Fed.”9 The decentralized portion of this central bank is in the design or make up of 12 regional Reserve Banks; each regional bank is also made up of a board of directors representing the private sector.10 One unique aspect of the Federal Reserve System is that the Federal Reserve is a “privately held” corporation backed by the United States government. Like any corporation the Fed has stockholders with whom the presidential appointed board of directors are accountable to. “All nationally chartered banks may choose to join the Fed and likewise own stock.”11 On the other hand, unlike stockholders in a publicly held company, banks cannot sell or trade their Fed stock. What this means, in essence, is that while the Fed has privately held aspects it is not a privately held corporation. However, “The Federal Reserve System is not “owned” by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects.”12 However, “The Federal Reserve System is not “owned” by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution. Instead, it is an independent entity within the government, having both public purposes and private aspects.”13

An example of this private corporation and Federal Government hybrid is the confusion wrought by such a contraption. An example of this is the structure of the Federal Reserve, which combines the public and private sectors in a complicated mesh of bureaucracy. An example of one such confusing episode in the life of the Fed can be told in the story of the Federal Reserves newly completed Washington D.C. headquarters, which opened in 1937. In a congressional hearing it had been observed that the Federal Reserve Bank’s headquarters had been sold to the privately held Federal Reserve Bank by the US government and therefore was not tax exempt. Since this publicly held land was sold to a privately held corporation it should be required to pay property taxes. However, when the District of Columbia sent a tax bill to the Federal Reserve headquarters the Fed exercised its governmental exemption status.14 To be sure the Federal Reserve is a centralized bank and a Government appendage, the most striking difference and the one that leads to the most confusion is that other central banks take their orders from their governmental official wither elected or not. For instance the central bank of the People’s Republic of China takes its orders from the National People’s Congress and the Bank of England from its elected officials. The United States Federal Reserve Bank take their cues from the financial markets in conjunction with the US President and the Secretary of the Treasury. One system could be said to be more democratized, because they take their orders from people directly accountable to the masses while the other is an autonomous, even autocratic, association accountable only to themselves.15

Controversy

From the founding of the Federal Reserve, controversy has surrounded this organization continuing to this day. One organization begins its grassroots movement to dismantle the Fed on November 22, 2009. The rational in ending the Fed is the belief that,

the Federal Reserve is a cartel of private banking corporations which lend money to the United States. It is touted as if it were a Government Agency. IT IS NOT. The Federal Reserve Bank, through its inflation of the money supply and the distortion of free markets resulting from its intervention, is responsible for the current financial and economic crisis. The current round of “bailouts” and federal government nationalization of large segments of the financial sector further inflates the US dollar and disrupts the proper funtioning of the markets and will ultimately serve to plunge the nation into an even more severe crisis, quite possibly even into a serious depression. Our goal is to educate Americans so we can have a sound monetary system in this country, and not be held at gunpoint by a private banking cartel who pretends to be a government entity.16

Because one of the goals of the Fed is to smooth transitions within the financial markets, something that is virtually impossible, people will see an organization that they believe benefits from times of economic prosperity as well as crises. Continuing this path of proclaimed banking and governmental subversion in 2007 a viral Internet film took root. It was to be combined with activation and public showings. This film, done in three parts, attempts to show how people are enslaved to those in power. The movie called Zeitgeist, third part is called “Don’t Mind the Men Behind the Curtain” and attempts to show that American citizens are enslaved to our Government and banks by quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The real truth of the matter is that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government since the days of Andrew Jackson”–Franklin D. Roosevelt, US President, 193317 While this quote seems incriminating finding the exact source has prove elusive not only for myself but others. One such person seeking to find this quote has said,

It is apparently a letter sent from Roosevelt to Colonel Edward M House, and apparently can be received from Sterling Library at Yale University or from Radio Liberty. After hours of searching, I could not find a single location on the Internet that references this letter that is not a conspiracy site or is from a post on a forum written by someone who is promoting a conspiracy theory. More so, searching Yale’s library database yielded nothing. I found plenty of letters, but not this one.18

No cohesive framework within the financial policy community

Contributing to these difficulties is the fact that there is no cohesive framework within the financial community, that provides a well developed, articulated, or widely excepted and consistent whole on the development of financial policies as many article show.19 “One important conclusion of the analysis, and a lesson for the many less developed financial systems around the world, is that an effective (if not efficient) process of finance requires extensive private-collective and public policy involvement, to internalize and capture social economic benefits and public goods associated with finance.”20

The lack of a consistent framework within the policy making community and the addition of the “magic” of fiat money, such as our Federal Reserve Notes that have no intrinsic value because it is not backed by specie (gold or silver) giving it anonymity and liquidity by people at large. The wide acceptance of fiat money allows for smoothed economic transactions, allowing for a unit of account and as a medium of exchange.21 This fait money allows for the “The Fed” to achieve its main mission, establishing and maintaining confidence in the US dollar and in the US banking system.22

Today there is a tremendous need for a US Central Bank even though it is often surrounded by controversy. To achieve this goal of a Central Bank, Hamilton desired to create the Bank of the United States, modeled after the Bank of England.23

A national bank would collect taxes, hold government funds, and make loans to the government and borrowers. One criticism directed against the bank was “unrepublican”--it would encourage speculation and corruption. The bank was also opposed on constitutional grounds. Adopting a position known as “strict constructionism,” Thomas Jefferson and James Madison charged that a national bank was unconstitutional since the Constitution did not specifically give Congress the power to create a bank.24

Hamilton responded to the charge that a bank was unconstitutional by formulating the doctrine of “implied powers.” He argued that Congress had the power to create a bank because the Constitution granted the federal government authority to do anything “necessary and proper” to carry out its constitutional functions (in this case its fiscal duties).25

Because of the continued national debate of Jeffersonian verses Hamiltonian politics the Fed has proved to be a controversial subject by many people from its founding, even up to today, often leading to conspiracy theories showing that in the land of some of the freest people in the world we are oppressed by corrupt government and evil bankers.

Citations

---

1 Parkin, Michael. Economics seventh edition.
New York: Pearson Education, 2005. p.616

2 Meltzer, Alan H. A History of the Federal Reserve.
Chicago: The University of Chicgo Press, Ltd., 2003. p. 19

3 Ibid

4 Congressional Record–House December 22, 1913 p.1464

5 Congressional Record –Senate 1913 p. 1487

6 “28. Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921.” the White House. Available from http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/woodrowwilson. Internet; accessed 20 November 2009.

7 Wheeler, Edward J. “How the Federal Reserve Bank was evolved by five men on Jekyll Island.” Current Opinion. December 1916, 382.

8 Parkin, Michael. Economics seventh edition.
New York: Pearson Education, 2005. p.616

9 Ibid

10 Ibid

11 “The Fed Today: History, Structure, Monetary Policy, Banking Supervision, Financial Services and More!” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Available from http://www.philadelphiafed.org/publications/order-form/fed-today.cfm. Internet; accessed 14 October 2009. p.3

12 “The Federal Reserve Board Frequently Asked Questions Federal Reserve System.” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.. Available from http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqfrs.htm. Internet; accessed 22 November 2009.

13 “The Federal Reserve Board Frequently Asked Questions Federal Reserve System.” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.. Available from http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqfrs.htm. Internet; accessed 22 November 2009.

14 Greider, William. Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987. p.48–50

15 Ibid p. 50

16 “End the Fed: sound money for America.” End the Fed Network. Available from http://endthefedusa.ning.com/. Internet; accessed 18 November 2009.

17 Joseph, Peter. “Zeitgeist, The Movie - Transcript -.” Zeitgeist The Movie. Available from http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/transcript.htm. Internet; accessed 12 October 2009.

18 “A “debunking” of the movie Zeitgeist.” We Can Change the World a better world is possible if we work together. Available from http://wecanchangetheworld.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/a-debunking-of-the-movie-zeitgeist/. Internet; accessed 20 November 2009.

19 Schinasi, Garry J. Safeguarding Financial Stability Theory and Practice.
Washington D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 2006. p. 23

20 Ibid

21 Ibid p.29

22 “The Fed Today: History, Structure, Monetary Policy, Banking Supervision, Financial Services and More!” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Available from http://www.philadelphiafed.org/publications/order-form/fed-today.cfm. Internet; accessed 14 October 2009. p.3

23 ( http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=6)

24 Historical Content Steven Mintz John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History University of Houston Site Design and Curriculum Development Sara McNeil Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction University of Houston Engines of Our Ingenuity John Lienhard M.D. Anderson Professor of Mechanical Engineering University of Houston Database Development and Image Processing Kai-Ju Hsieh Meng-Fen (Grace) Lin Flash Movie Design and Development You-Mei Lui Sam Hanlon University of Houston Technical Support Jerry Price Michael Rapp University of Houston , “Alexander Hamilton’s Financial Program.” Digital History: using new technology to enhance teaching and research. Available from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=6. Internet; accessed 14 October 2009.

25 Ibid

Christian Persecution

To best under stand early Christian persecutions several historical events need to be understood. I will examine in brief the enmity between Jews and the Jewish sect of the followers of Christ. Rome and its role in what were acceptable and unacceptable religion. The Diaspora and its helping us to understand societal conflict finally with Christianity’s success its role reversal with the Jews and becoming their persecutor. By the first century, perhaps 10 percent of the population of the Roman Empire was Jewish. Readership of prominent Jewish authors like Josephus and Philo of Alaxandria, who explained the history and beliefs of Judaism in language that a Hellenist could understand, including the ruling class of pagan Rome were well known.

From this group came a figure known in tradition as the Messiah (literally “Anointed One”)—“Messiah” is translated in the Greek Septuagint as “Christos,” and so the followers of Jesus came to be called “Christians.” From the earliest Christian writings we find the seeds of mutual antagonism of Jews and Christians sown, persecution is found in Christianity’s very roots. The earliest gospels accuse the Pharisees and Sadducees of playing a part in the persecution and death of the Messiah. (See Mark 2:24; Mark 7:5) And seek to destroy Christ. (Mark 3:6) (Mark 8: 15) (Mark 15: 27)

However as we move forward we see a continued Jewish antagonism in Christianity’s first martyr (Martyrdom is, being put to death for one’s faith. This became a test for many Christians.) In “The Church History of Eusebius.”2 he writes that in the time of Claudius “Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church. All of the faiths of the ancient world were to be found in Rome. Because Julius Caesar recognized Judaism as an ancient religion he granted the Jews the right to freely practice their own religion. The Christian sect evolving form Judaism at first too was recognized as legitimate. Some of the complexities involved in the Roman view of Christian insubordination towards the empire are founded upon these founding privileges.

The first Christians were regarded by the Roman authorities as a sect within Judaism and given the same protections as any sanctioned religion. Christians met secretly for worship at night—men and women, behind closed doors—hence charges of immorality and incest it was rumored that they partook of the blood of a newborn babe—hence charges of cannibalism—and they were militant proselytizers. The Roman historian Tacitus accused them of ‘hatred of the human race.’5

The earliest Roman brutality against Christians was usually in the form of outbreaks of largely local mob violence against Christians in Asia Minor and in Rome, during the first and second centuries. From a Roman point of view, they were guilty of insubordination.”There are what are commonly called “Ten Persecutions of the Early Christians” these persecutions were raised by the Romans against the primitive church during the reign of the following emperors.

Nero (Roman emperor AD 54–68), In the early hours of July 19, 64 A.D., a fire struck Rome, engulfing some of the greatest buildings in antiquity and devastating the capital city, the Christians were blamed and the first Roman persecution stirred up.7 In this persecution the Apostle Paul was killed and the apostle Peter crucified in Rome. This first persecution ceased under Vespasian (reigned AD 69–79).

Domitian (Roman emperor AD 81–96). John, the apostle and evangelist was exiled to Patmos during this persecution. After the death of Domitian, John was released and came to Ephesus in AD 97, where he wrote his Gospel and where he lived until the time of Trajan.

Trajan (Roman emperor AD 98–117). Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch suffered in this persecution.

Marcus Aurelius, his other name being Antoninus Verus (Roman emperor AD 161–180). Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, and the Christian martyrs of Lyons and Vienne, two cities in France, were martyred in this persecution.

Septimius Severus (Roman emperor AD 193–211). This persecution extended to northern Africa, which was a Roman province.

Maximinus, Gaius Julius Verus (Roman emperor AD 235–238).

Decius (Roman emperor AD 249–251). The one-thousandth anniversary of the founding of Rome stirred him to re-establish the ancient worship of the Roman gods, to reunify the empire he instigated the first empire-wide systematic persecution of the Christians. In January 250 Bishop Fabian of Rome was martyred; Cyprian, and Bishop Dionysius of Carthage, went into exile; and Origen was imprisoned and tortured. Many Christians stood fast (the confessors); many conformed to the state religion by taking part in sacrifices or burning incense before the statue of the emperor (they became the lapsed). There were many martyrs. When the persecution ended in June 251 with the death of Decius, the church had to deal with the problem of the readmission of the lapsed, and a severe split occurred between Pope Stephen of Rome and Cyprian in the North African Church.

Valerian (Roman emperor AD 253–260). During the renewed persecution under the Emperor Valerian in 258 AD Cyprian was beheaded. Thereafter the Church endured peace for nearly sixty years, during which many half-converts joined the church.

Aurelian (Roman emperor AD 270–275).

Diocletian (Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, reigned AD 284–305) and Maximian (reigned AD 285–305) governed as emperors together. Diocletian issued a series of edicts, designed to stamp out the Christian scriptures, the clergy, and finally the laity as well. He began his furious persecution against the Christians in 303. The emperor ordered the doors of the Christian church at Nicomedia, the capital, to be barred, and then burnt the edifice with 600 Christians within. Churches were demolished, books were seized and burnt, Christians were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and killed. The persecution brought a considerable number of martyrs, and it continued until 313, until Constantine the Great defeated the Roman usurper Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. The following year Constantine issued, together with the Eastern emperor, Licinius, an edict of toleration of all religions. Christianity did not become the official religion of the Roman Empire until the Edict of Theodosius in 380 AD.8

By making martyrs of Christians, the Romans contributed to the record of bravery and fidelity that the Christians could be proud of. Persecution had a reverse effect from the intended imperial policy, and according to a number of accounts, the steadfast faith of the martyrs offered an example that attracted many pagans to become Christian.

The Nicene Creed ratified in 381AD is a statement partly of historical facts and partly of dogmatic inferences. One belongs to a world of Syrian peasants, the other to a world of Greek philosophers.

With the accession of Constantine to the throne of the Cæsars and his subsequent conversion to Christianity, he eased the afflictions of the Church by issuing the Edict of Milan, which sought to make the Roman Empire religiously neutral. Constantine’s initiative of having the first ecumenical conference in 325, known as the First Council of Nicea followed the dominant Roman imperial hierarchy inspiring the organizational structure of the Church. The Roman Church put the local administrations of diverse Christian cults, and churches within the Empire in one hierarchical organization; the Vatican situated in Rome. From these beginnings dawned a new era in the history of the Jews.10

Jewish settlements in the Diaspora, did not proceed form voluntary arrangement but from compulsory demand of conquerors. The Jews quickly became in a position to extend aid to many thousands of Judeans who returned to their homeland in 536 BC. After the second century, there are several indications that relations between the Jews, authorities and segments of the Empires population were increasing in tension.

Over the course of time the Jews were gradually accepted in ancient societies but never truly assimilated. Equality of rights for the Jews to which the pagan emperors had admitted them was gradually restricted by the head(s) of the Christian State.

Since 325 AD after enjoying the outspoken favor of the Roman Empire, most Christians authors abandoned all restraint in their attacks upon the Jewish people. The works of such writers as Ephraem Syrus, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa are notorious for their virulent denunciations against the Jews. But none surpassed in vehemence and ferocity the anti-Jewish diatribes of John Chrysostom of Antioch. No other writings contributed as much, to the transition from literary attacks, to physical aggression against the Jews.

The Church’s power over the soul and conscience of the empire was complete. The church, offered the only career open to men of all ranks and stations. In achieving the Churches supremacy, much had been sacrificed. Christian virtues of humility, charity and self-abnegation had virtually disappeared in the contest, which left the temporal power dominant over the spiritual. The worldly prizes offered by an ecclesiastical career brought into the ranks of the clergy able men, but men whose object was often worldly ambition rather than spiritual development. With Jewish loss of rank and privilege within Roman society came greater opportunities to blame those already lowered in social standing for the problems of the day. Along with these burdens for the Jews came an increase of hostile writings and finally a clergy more interested in worldly ambition rather than spiritual development. As slaves rejected by God, in whose death they wickedly conspire, they shall by the effect of this very action, recognize themselves as the slaves of those whom Christ's death set free…” In 1215: The Fourth `Lateran Council approved canon laws requiring that “Jews and Muslims shall wear a special dress.” Others converted to Christianity but often continued to practice Judaism in secret.17

Over the next five centuries the sporadic acts of violence and persecution against Jews continued.

2 The Church History of Eusebius Christian Classics Ethereal Library Classic Christian books in electronic format. The Early Church Fathers All of the files linked here are in the public domain. All of the books on this server are believed to be in the public domain in the United States unless otherwise specified.

http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-01/Npnf2-01-07.htm#P993_481588

5 Parrinder, Geoffrey. World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present, Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, New York. 1971 page 429.

7 Secrets of The Dead III: The Great Fire of Rome “Yet there is evidence that, in 64 AD, many Roman Christians believed in prophesies predicting that Rome would soon be destroyed by fire. Perhaps the fire was set off by someone hoping to make such a prophecy come true. Historian Henry Hurst feels the fire most likely began as an accident. There were as many as a hundred minor fires that broke out in Rome every day, so it's quite feasible that such a fire evolved into the one that leveled the city. Tacitus claims that the only explanation for how the fire spread from these kindling hovels to the sturdy stone houses of the senators is arson. Yet modern technology seems to prove otherwise. Inside a fire chamber, fire specialists created a replica of an aristocrat's home in the hope of determining whether such an abode could have been set ablaze by a small, wood-fueled fire. After a small blaze was lit in a corner of the replica, the fire spread to the furniture and soon had consumed the miniature home. Temperatures rose to 1100 degrees and part of the ceiling collapsed before the fire was extinguished for safety purposes. The recreation suggests that the fire could easily have spread from the tenements to the stone homes in the Forum. Recent excavations have provided further evidence to corroborate the notion that this great fire was raging by the time it spread to the forum.

Certainly, it's hard to know whether to trust the allegations in the writings of Tacitus. Yet, what about the explanation offered by Nero, that the Christians were to blame? At least one scholar believes Nero was on the mark. Professor Gerhard Baudy of the University of Konstanz in Germany has spent fifteen years studying ancient apocalyptic prophecies. His studies have shown that in the poor districts of Rome, Christians were circulating vengeful texts predicting that a raging inferno would to reduce the city to ashes. "In all of these oracles, the destruction of Rome by fire is prophesied," Baudy explains. "That is the constant theme: Rome must burn. This was the long-desired objective of all the people who felt subjugated by Rome."

Moreover, the Book of Revelations, written a mere 30 years later, seems to equate evil with Rome. The Whore of Babylon, the source of this evil according to Revelations, is described as having seven heads. "The seven heads are seven mountains," Revelations says. Rome, of course, is famously known as the city of seven hills. What's more, an ancient Egyptian prophesy that would have been well-known in the Christian quarters of Rome foretold the fall of the great evil city on the day that the dog star, Sirius, rises. In 64 AD, Sirius rose on July 19, the very day the great fire of Rome began. Baudy believes that, bearing this prophetic date in mind, some of the Christians, maltreated and embittered, may have started the fire -- or perhaps lit additional fires, adding fuel to the larger conflagration -- in hopes of realizing their prophesies.

Regardless, over two hundred years would pass before the Christians escaped the kind of persecution they endured under Nero. In the meantime, Nero's reign soon crumbled. Four years after the fire, as the senate and the army turned against him, Nero was forced to flee Rome. Aided by a secretary, he stabbed himself to death with an iron blade.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_rome/

8 The Church History of Eusebius Christian The Church History of Eusebius Christian http://www.cryingvoice.com/Christian_martyrs/TenPersIntro.html

10 Inquisition from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Inquisition (Latin: Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium) was an office of the Roman Catholic Church charged with suppressing heresy. Its actions and interactions with local governments are the subjects of considerable historical inquiry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Origin

17 Oxtoby, Willard G. World Religions Western Traditions Second Edition. Oxford University Press. Canada 2002 page104