A constitution is supposed to serve as a restraint on government and -- as Sam Adams and other lucid revolutionary heroes thought – the taxing power of the state. During the high tide of despotic government, when a king or oligarch wished to spend freely from the treasury without, however, raising taxes that might disturb merchants and farmers, he resorted to clipping coins, hoping that the people would not notice the depreciation of the currency. The dodge worked for a while, but it was foolproof only for fools.
go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you;
may your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"
--Samuel Adams