Lesson plan
Conscience Fund
The Conscience Fund is one of three gift funds maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury and is used for voluntary contributions from people who have stolen from or defrauded the United States Government. The fund was created in 1811 and received US$5 during its first year and over US$5.7million during its first 175 years. The fund's name comes from a letter sent during the Civil War from a former Quartermaster in the Army to then-Treasurer of the United States Francis E. Spinner with a US$1500 check for previously misappropriated funds saying, "Suppose we call this a contribution to the conscience fund and get it announced in the newspapers, and perhaps we will get some more". Donations given to the Conscience Fund vary in size and reason. A 9 cent donation was made by a person from Massachusetts who had reused a 3 cent postage stamp, while a person from Jersey City sent US$40,000 in several installments for US$8,000 he had previously taken. Another donor sent handmade quilts in an effort to settle her tax bill. Most gifts to the Conscience Fund are from anonymous donors. Others are forwarded by clergy who have received deathbed confessions. The sincerity of some donors' repentance can be uncertain, as demonstrated by a received letter reading, "Dear Internal Revenue Service, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year's income tax.…
Article summary
The Conscience Fund is one of three gift funds maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury and is used for voluntary contributions from people who have stolen from or defrauded the United States Government. The fund was created in 1811 and received US$5 during its first year and over US$5.7million during its first 175 years. The fund's name comes from a letter sent during the Civil War from a former Quartermaster in the Army to then-Treasurer of the United States Francis E. Spinner with a US$1500 check for previously misappropriated funds saying, "Suppose we call this a contribution to the conscience fund and get it announced in the newspapers, and perhaps we will get some more". Donations given to the Conscience Fund vary in size and reason. A 9 cent donation was made by a person from Massachusetts who had reused a 3 cent postage stamp, while a person from Jersey City sent US$40,000 in several installments for US$8,000 he had previously taken. Another donor sent handmade quilts in an effort to settle her tax bill. Most gifts to the Conscience Fund are from anonymous donors. Others are forwarded by clergy who have received deathbed confessions. The sincerity of some donors' repentance can be uncertain, as demonstrated by a received letter reading, "Dear Internal Revenue Service, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year's income tax.…
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.