How Wealthy Were the Founding Fathers? 美國開國元勛有多殷實？

In 1776， as they lined up in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence， the Founders attested quite literally to its final words， “We [mutually] pledge [to each other] our Lives， our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” What exactly were their fortunes？

1776年，美國開國元勛們在費城依次簽署《獨立宣言》，他們也確確實實印證了宣言最后的那些話：“謹(jǐn)以我們的生命、我們的財產(chǎn)和我們神圣的名譽（彼此）起誓?！蹦敲矗麄兊呢敭a(chǎn)狀況究竟如何呢？

A little over a century ago， Columbia University professor Charles A. Beard asserted that all the Founders were rich and in it for the money. But does Beard’s analysis hold up in the light of a modern investigation using financial records he did not possess？

一個多世紀(jì)前，哥倫比亞大學(xué)教授查爾斯·A.比爾德曾斷言，開國元勛們?nèi)几患滓环剑宜麄儏⑴c其中追求的乃是金錢。然而，一項現(xiàn)代調(diào)研利用了比爾德當(dāng)時未掌握的財產(chǎn)記錄，鑒于此，比爾德的分析還能站得住腳嗎？

Examination of the Founders’ lives and their gains and losses through three turbulent decades of breaking away from Great Britain and building a new nation provides a much more nuanced picture.

美國從脫離英國到獨立建國歷經(jīng)三十載，剖析開國元勛們在這段動蕩歲月中的生活及其得失，能為我們展現(xiàn)更多的細(xì)節(jié)。

Some of the Founders were not rich. Samuel Adams， who first raised the alarm of growing Parliamentary pocket-picking of American colonists— “taxation without representation is tyranny”1 —was born to a Boston malt merchant who tried to set up a mortgage bank. The British not only shut it down but ordered the elder Adams to repay all the loans， bankrupting him. He could no longer afford his son’s expenses at Harvard. The future revolutionary wound up waiting on the tables of his wealthier friends—and hating the British.

并非所有的開國元勛都家財萬貫。在英國議會不斷向美國殖民地居民橫征暴斂之時，塞繆爾·亞當(dāng)斯率先發(fā)出警示——“沒有代表權(quán)的征稅就是暴政”。亞當(dāng)斯出生于波士頓一位麥芽商之家。他的父親曾試圖建立一家抵押貸款銀行，可英國人不僅關(guān)停了銀行，還命令老亞當(dāng)斯償還全部貸款。老亞當(dāng)斯因此破產(chǎn)，再也無法負(fù)擔(dān)兒子讀哈佛大學(xué)的費用。這位日后成為革命者的青年結(jié)果只能在餐桌旁為其富人朋友服務(wù)，心中充滿了對英國人的憤恨。

His friend， John Hancock， born the son of an impecunious country parson， was adopted by his childless uncle， probably the richest merchant in New England. After completing Harvard， young Hancock learned the whale oil exporting business， at 26 taking over the firm and diversifying it by creating a network of stores and ships that made him even wealthier.

亞當(dāng)斯的朋友約翰·漢考克出身于貧寒鄉(xiāng)村牧師家庭，后來由其膝下無子的叔叔收養(yǎng)。他這位叔叔大概是新英格蘭地區(qū)最富有的商人了。年輕的漢考克在哈佛大學(xué)完成學(xué)業(yè)后，學(xué)習(xí)了鯨油出口業(yè)務(wù)，26歲時接管了公司，他將商鋪與航運連接起來，以此拓展公司業(yè)務(wù)，從而積累了更多財富。

The two men became the leaders of resistance to Britain’s tax policies， and when they fled British troops searching for them in Lexington， Hancock crammed the family fortune into a carriage to invest in the revolution. Turning to the chronically-disheveled Adams， he said， “You can’t go to Congress looking like that.” And he bought him a new suit.

亞當(dāng)斯與漢考克成了反抗英國稅收政策的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。二人在列克星敦逃避英軍的搜尋時，漢考克將家財塞入馬車，以助革命事業(yè)。漢考克跟一貫衣冠不整的亞當(dāng)斯說：“你不能以這副模樣前往國會?！彪S后，他為亞當(dāng)斯買了一套新衣服。

The first of the grievances enumerated in the Declaration of Independence was that Britain had banned all banks and colonial currencies. While James Madison， son of a wealthy planter， took his seat in Congress， his horse was evicted from a stable nearby. Philadelphians would not accept Virginia currency.

《獨立宣言》中列舉了諸多對英國的不滿，首先便是英國關(guān)閉各類銀行及禁用殖民地貨幣。比如，詹姆斯·麥迪遜（一位富有的種植園主的兒子）在國會就職時，他的馬被趕出了附近的馬廄，這是由于費城人不接受弗吉尼亞州的貨幣。

For the Second Continental Congress， George Washington arrived in a coach drawn by matched horses with liveried outriders. As the threadbare son of a thrice-widowed single mother， he could not afford dancing lessons—the ticket to Tidewater society—and had to borrow a horse to ride off to fight in the French and Indian War.

第二屆大陸會議召開之時，喬治·華盛頓是乘坐一輛由配套馬匹拉著的四輪大馬車到場的，騎手身著制服陪同。華盛頓的母親三次喪偶，獨自一人撫養(yǎng)他長大。衣衫破舊的華盛頓無力負(fù)擔(dān)舞蹈課的費用——跳舞是踏入弗吉尼亞州東部上流社會的門票。從戎于法印戰(zhàn)爭之時，他所騎的馬匹也不得不找別人借。

But that soon changed when after five years of frontier warfare， he married the colony’s wealthiest widow. As the British continued to impose hefty taxes， Washington had to turn to British brokers and bankers and slid into debt. Studying his records， he calculated that the British government and bankers were taking seventy-five percent of his profits.

然而，這種情況很快發(fā)生了轉(zhuǎn)變。歷經(jīng)5年邊境戰(zhàn)爭后，華盛頓與殖民地最富有的寡婦結(jié)了婚。隨著英國持續(xù)向殖民地征收高額稅款，華盛頓不得不向英國經(jīng)紀(jì)人和銀行家求助，漸漸背上了債務(wù)。他審視了自己的財務(wù)記錄，計算出英國政府和那些銀行家從他的利潤中抽取了75%的份額。

Chosen unanimously by Congress as commander-in-chief of Continental forces， he refused a salary， asking only to be reimbursed his documented expenses. During the eight-year-long struggle， he lost half his wealth， largely because he neglected his farms. He received no pension. Like most of the Founders， Washington was rich in land and slaves but cash poor. In a long postwar depression， he couldn’t sell or rent his lands.

國會一致推選華盛頓為大陸軍總司令之后，他拒絕領(lǐng)取薪酬，僅要求報銷有記錄可循的支出費用。在長達(dá)8年的革命中，他耗費了自己一半的積蓄，主要原因在于他無暇顧及田產(chǎn)經(jīng)營。他也未曾領(lǐng)取過撫恤金。和大多數(shù)開國元勛一樣，華盛頓名下田地眾多，奴隸成群，而他卻缺少現(xiàn)金。在戰(zhàn)后漫長的經(jīng)濟蕭條期，他無法變賣或出租土地。

Robert Morris， generally considered the financier of the Revolution， donated ships from his fleet of tobacco-trading vessels and turned to privateering. Raiding British convoys， he became the richest man in America. He personally signed 6，000 notes to pay off Washington’s troops when the war ended.

羅伯特·莫里斯是公認(rèn)的美國獨立戰(zhàn)爭出資人，他將自己煙草貿(mào)易船隊中的一些船只捐獻出來用于私掠巡航。通過劫掠英國受護送的貴重物資，莫里斯成為美國首富。戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，他個人簽發(fā)了6000張本票來支付華盛頓軍隊的遣散費。

The quintessential rags-to-riches story was Benjamin Franklin’s， and he wrote it himself in his famous autobiography. Arriving in Philadelphia a seventeen-year-old runaway， he used his printer’s skills to launch a newspaper， publish books， and sell them through partnerships with printers in other towns. He invested his profits in real estate， accruing 89 rental properties.

白手起家的典型當(dāng)屬本杰明·富蘭克林，而他本人也將這段經(jīng)歷寫入了他那著名的自傳之中。17歲時，他離家出走來到費城，憑借自己的印刷技術(shù)創(chuàng)辦了一家報社，還出版書籍，并與其他城鎮(zhèn)的印刷商合作銷售。他將所獲之利投至房地產(chǎn)，累積了89處房產(chǎn)作租賃之用。

Sent to Paris as America’s first ambassador， he sought arms and loans. British troops occupying Philadelphia trashed Franklin’s properties and looted his house. But in France Franklin was the king’s favorite American. When Franklin said goodbye at Versailles， Louis XVI ordered that he be given a special gift， a snuff box bearing the king’s portrait， encrusted with 401 diamonds.

作為美國首位駐外大使，富蘭克林前往巴黎尋求軍事與財政援助。那時，英軍占領(lǐng)了費城，毀壞了富蘭克林的房產(chǎn)，將他的宅邸洗劫一空。然而，身處法國的富蘭克林卻是最受國王路易十六青睞的美國人。富蘭克林在凡爾賽宮告別時，路易十六下令贈送他一份特別的禮物——一個印有路易十六肖像的鼻煙壺，外殼鑲嵌著401顆鉆石。

Franklin’s successor， Thomas Jefferson， a compulsive shopper， married the daughter of a slave trader， inheriting his fortune and his debts. Jefferson went on a fifty-year spending spree， furnishing his mountaintop mansion with art and artifacts from London and Paris.

富蘭克林的繼任者托馬斯·杰斐遜是個購物狂，他娶了一名奴隸販子的女兒，不僅繼承了妻家的財產(chǎn)，也承擔(dān)了其債務(wù)。半個世紀(jì)里，他大肆購物，用來自倫敦與巴黎的藝術(shù)品和文物裝飾自己的山頂豪宅。

Wartime governor of Virginia， Jefferson allowed friends to pay their debts in virtually worthless Continental currency2， but he still owed ever-increasing debts to British brokers in pounds sterling. The British army had trashed one of his farms; Jefferson made this his excuse not to repay them.

杰斐遜擔(dān)任弗吉尼亞州戰(zhàn)時州長期間，容許自己的朋友用幾乎分毫不值的“大陸幣”來清償債務(wù)，而他自己拖欠英國經(jīng)紀(jì)人的英鎊債務(wù)卻越積越多。杰斐遜以英軍曾破壞他名下的一個農(nóng)場為由，拒不還債。

Postwar British restrictions on the U.S. cut off trade to the Caribbean and Canada; British merchants cut off credit. Nobody had any money. Foolishly， Robert Morris turned to speculating in land， but nobody could buy it. Hounded by creditors， he surrendered to Philadelphia’s sheriffs and spent three years in debtor’s prison3， one of three signers whose fortunes tanked.

戰(zhàn)后，英國對美國的遏制措施切斷了美國與加勒比地區(qū)及加拿大之間的貿(mào)易。英國商人停止向美國人提供貸款。美國人囊中羞澀。此時羅伯特·莫里斯犯了糊涂，參與了土地投機，但土地?zé)o人問津。迫于債權(quán)人的步步緊逼，莫里斯向費城治安官自首，在負(fù)債人監(jiān)獄中待了三年。三位破產(chǎn)的開國元勛之中便包括莫里斯。

Alexander Hamilton， who created the financial system of the U.S.， was so broke when he died in a duel that his friends had to take up a collection for his funeral.

亞歷山大·漢密爾頓創(chuàng)建了美國金融體系。他因決斗離世時一貧如洗，他的朋友只好通過籌款來為他舉辦葬禮。

It was Robert Morris who most succinctly challenged Charles Beard’s hypothesis. His Founding colleagues were， he wrote， “plain honest men.”

最能簡明扼要地反駁查爾斯·比爾德推測的當(dāng)屬羅伯特·莫里斯。他寫道，與他共謀建國的同仁們無一不是“十足誠信之人”。

（譯者單位：浙江農(nóng)林大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院）

1起源于美國獨立戰(zhàn)爭時期的一句政治口號：無代表不納稅（No taxation without representation）。這句口號反映了美國殖民地對英國政府的不滿，因為他們在英國議會中沒有直接的代表權(quán)，卻仍需繳納各種稅項，如印花稅和糖稅等。殖民地居民認(rèn)為，這種做法違反了他們的權(quán)利，等同于暴政。

2指1775年至1779年經(jīng)大陸會議批準(zhǔn)發(fā)行的用于支持獨立戰(zhàn)爭費用的紙幣，總價值2億美元。因為它沒有黃金或白銀等實物資產(chǎn)支持，以及印制量巨大而快速貶值。not worth a continental（毫無價值）這一俗語由此而生。

3為無力償還債務(wù)的人設(shè)置的監(jiān)獄。美國的負(fù)債人監(jiān)獄自殖民時代便沿用英國模式，直至19世紀(jì)中期。1812年英美戰(zhàn)爭后，經(jīng)濟衰敗導(dǎo)致大量負(fù)債人入獄。