This paper will account for the saga of the American President Andrew Jackson and his battles with the United States banking industry, most notably the Second Bank of the United States, and how President Jackson’s actions were a justified necessary evil. This paper will illustrate the specific battle President Jackson had with the second National Bank of America and how, like many battles President Jackson had as a general, was chosen wisely. To understand the saga of President Jackson and his battles with the national banking industry, it is wise to understand the man that was Andrew Jackson leading up to his major battle. It was no secret that President Jackson was not a fan of government, regardless of what title came before his name. …show more content…
Knowing that President Jackson was an opponent, Nicholas Biddle actively sought to renew the Second National Bank’s charter. This would require congressional approval and President Jackson’s executive approval. With a presidential election coming up, President Jackson’s congressional rival Henry Clay wanted this to be a central issue of the presidential election of 1832. Senator Clay believed that with the pressures of President Jackson seeking reelection, Jackson would be more inclined to re-charter the Second National Bank; whereas, if President Jackson was reelected, Jackson would not have anything to lose and decide to veto the re-chartering of the bank in 1836 when the charter was scheduled to end. Writing Nicholas Biddle, Senator Clay expressed this belief saying that “the President, in the event of the passage of a bill, seems to be a matter of doubt and speculation. My own belief is that, if now called upon he (Jackson) would not negative the bill, but that if he should be re-elected the event might and probably would be different.” Nicholas Biddle took the powerful senator’s words seriously, and applied for a re-charter in 1832. The bill passed the House of Representatives and the Senate and was sent to President Andrew Jackson’s desk for approval or a veto. Turning to his cabinet for advice, President Jackson relied on the advice of Attorney General Roger Taney. Taney wrote President Jackson, “I understand the application at the present time, it means in plain English this – the Bank says to the President, ‘your next election is at hand – if you charter us, well – if not, beware of your power.’” President Jackson accepted Taney’s interpretation of the bank’s attempted re-chartering as a direct challenge to his presidency, and decided
Another reason why Andrew Jackson’s presidency was different was because of his attack on the Bank of the United States. In 1832, Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the bank. Jackson believed the bank had an unfair advantage over the other banks. The national bank would get all the federal tax revenues instead of the state or private banks. Also the bank’s president, Nicholas Biddle would extend loans to the men in the congress at lower rates of interest than he would do to regular people. Because Jackson thought the bank was unjust he took away its federal charter and the bank became a state bank. Jackson appointed a secretary of treasury after his reelection in 1832. The secretary of treasury placed all government funds in certain state banks, otherwise known as the pet banks. The national bank became the Philadelphia bank for a while until it went out of business.
The Bank War was the name given to the campaign begun by President Andrew Jackson in 1833 to destroy the Second Bank of the United States. The Second Bank had been established in 1816, as a successor to the First Bank of the United States, whose charter had been permitted to expire in 1811. In the veto message, President Jackson eagerly rejects a bill that leased the Bank of the United States. He argues that the Bank gives privilege and unfair advantage to a wealthy few at the expense of the public, and he opposes foreign ownership of Bank stock. The President claims the same right to interpret the Constitution as Congress and the Supreme Court when he questions the constitutionality of the Bank. The bank’s charter was unfair, Jackson argued in his veto message, that the bank was given significantly to much market power, specifically in the markets that moved financial properties from place to place in the country and into and out of additional nations. That market power enlarged the bank’s revenues and consequently its stock price, “which operated as a gratuity of many millions of dollars to the stockholders,”. Jackson proposed that it would be reasonable to the majority of
However, he firmly believes that certain powers and privileges granted to the existing bank exceed what the Constitution allows. By asserting that these unauthorized powers are “subversive to the rights of the States” and “dangerous to the liberties of the people,” Jackson highlights his constitutional objections. Jackson saw the bank as a tool that favored the wealthy few at the expense of ordinary farmers and workers. He believed that the bank’s concentration of financial power was detrimental to the
In Chapter 10 the book discussed about the Jacksonian Era. During the Jacksonian Era there were several events and policies that occurred that lad the United States to major changes in our government and economics. The Jacksonians wanted to democratize the United States political procedure and try to grow the U.S. economic opportunity for those that would be seen as the “common man.” One of the events to have occurred during the Jacksonian Era was the Second Bank of the United States. The Second Bank of the United Sates was a national bank authorized by Congress, which became the largest business in the nation, which produced a stable currency. During the Jacksonian Era not only was there economic change, but there was territorial change.
President Jackson didn’t like the bank and believed that it was not constitutional and that it threatened the republic. Jacksonian Democrats welcomed the commerce as long as it served the self-determination and irregular equality of white men, but an opposed paper currency saying that it promoted an unrepublican mind of luxury and greed. Jackson's goal was to reduce the government's involvement in the economy and also to end the particular privilege that was extended to those particular few, who he demanded his opponents were helping. Jackson's adversaries favored a very strong, central government and promoted economic progress through protective tariffs and a national bank. They talk over that this would create a national of success and harmony and that it would develop a beneficial national economy. The warfare over the Second Bank of the United States was a determining term in the economic struggle. When his oppositionists applied for a renewal of a charter of the bank, President Jackson emitted a veto announcement. This show of authority helped Jackson win re-election. Talking about the south, a protective tariff was developed, which hurt the south and favored the north. This tariff, which came to be recognized as the Tariff of Abominations, hurt the south by reducing the amount of exports and boosting the price on manufactured goods. Even though Jackson condemned the tariff, it gives an advantaged the northern cities and commercial food manufacturers, at the expense of the southern plantation owners. The tariff demonstrated that the south could do absolutely nothing to block the passage of the disloyal laws. Fundamentally, the Democrats thought that the government should stay away of the economy and that the intention of a national bank was
The Bank for Jackson motivated poor people against wealthy Americans who would take advantage of the poor people for their selfish purposes.Jackson’s words kind of encouraged a class war between the rich and the poor people. Jackson vetoed the Bank after it was passed by both Senate and the House of Representatives, and this show how Jackson had too much power, and that he is taking freedom away and not treating people equally as Webster replied to Jackson’s Bank veto (Doc
Jackson completely ignored the fact that most Americans supported the Bank and went through all the trouble to shut it down just to prove his power. Jackson also used the military as a threat to citizens. The people of South Carolina didn’t like what Jackson was doing, and they threatened to secede and also didn’t pay their taxes, so Jackson sent the Navy and Army into South Carolina to force them to pay their taxes. (Document 7). While citizens should pay their taxes, the military is to protect your country, not scare your people.
According to “ A compilation of the Messages and papers of the President's” says that the present bank of the united states enjoys to give exclusive privileges of banking. It also says that It to be regretted that the rich and powerful are often bending the acts of the government for used for their own selfish purposes, it is also easy to believe that great evils to our country come from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people. This all suggests that Andrew Jackson was upset that so many parts of the government is used and is a privilege just for the rich and not for all other people. But when Jackson did change that he just gave privileges to the rest of the white men, but only the white men and no other people. Also According to “ Senate Documents 21st congress, 1829-1830” Andrew Jackson petitioned Congress to pass a law which would limit appointment of a position in government for four years so that I could create some benefits to more of the people.
The bank provided credit to growing enterprises, issued bank notes which served as a dependable medium of exchange throughout the country, and it exercised a restraining effect on the less well manages state banks. Nicholas Biddle, who ran the Bank, tried to put the institution on a sound and prosperous basis. But Andrew Jackson was always determined to destroy it (Brinkley, 249). The Bank had two opposition groups: the “soft-money” faction and the “hard-money” faction. Soft money advocates objected to the Bank of the United States because it restrained the state banks from issuing notes freely. Hard money advocates believed that coin was the only safe currency, and they condemned all banks that issued bank notes.
The validity of President Andrew Jackson’s response to the Bank War issue has been contradicted by many, but his reasoning was supported by fact and inevitably beneficial to the country. Jackson’s primary involvement with the Second Bank of the United States arose during the suggested governmental re-chartering of the institution. It was during this period that the necessity and value of the Bank’s services were questioned.
Jackson ordered Taney to methodically remove all of the money from the Bank and move it into small “pet banks”. Jackson had an inherent distrust of the bank and its credit after a land deal went sour and he was left with a valueless bank note. In 1832, Jackson vetoed the extension of the Bank and instituted the tariff of abomination, a protective tariff that favored manufacturing in the
Nicholas Biddle proved great opposition to President Jackson. He wanted to re-charter the National Bank; however, many people were against Biddle’s decision. This was particularly true of people in the west. They were still wary of a national bank, after the Panic of 1819, which involved mishaps in land speculation. Jackson shared the predominately western opinion that several small banks would be a better service to the nation than one, large bank would. A major problem with a national bank would lie in it’s willingness only to make loans to the wealthy. This would be of no use to the middleclass. Jackson would not allow Biddle to gain any more power than he already had.
Jackson resented banks because he was a man who came from a family of poor farmers who paid with goods and crops. He saw banks as only useful to the wealthy, so when Henry Clay proposed “The Bank Bill”, which was in favor of the recharter, Jackson vetoed it. Andrew Jackson only thought about himself, and people who were like him, poor farmers. In total, vetoed twelve bills during his presidency, which was more than all of the preceding presidents combined. Again, Jackson set his mind to do something, and it was done.
Andrew Jackson, born on March 15,1767 was the 7th president of the United States, who was a self made man, rising to money and power. He is viewed as a controversial historical figure in American history between being a hero or villain. Andrew Jackson is a villain due to his controversial decisions during his presidency, such as the spoils system, the nullification crisis, the Second Bank of the United States, and lastly the most impactful decision, the Indian Removal Policy. Jackson may have been seen as the common man leader,and did many things to benefit the people, but that can not justify his unacceptable actions.
The creation of the first national bank in the United States was of utmost importance in setting precedence for how much power the constitution actually grants the government. The debate over whether to create a national bank raised many questions over the constitution that hadn’t been tested before. It also raised questions about what the government can do when the constitution has no written clause on a certain subject. In looking at the arguments from Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson regarding a national bank, people can find out more about how some of the leading founders of the Constitution wanted to see the United States government run.