Andrew Jackson and the Bank War

by Roberta McCutcheon

Introduction

When Alexander Hamilton called for a Bank of the United States in his Report on a National Bank, he envisioned a central bank that would sustain a developing national economy. The bank would, through the creation of bank "notes," replace some of the gold and silver money in circulation. This would allow for the growth in business activity without the need to rely solely on exports to increase money supply. Additionally, Hamilton argued that the bank would strengthen the national government by lending money to its treasury. As it turned out, the First Bank of the United States brought more stability to the nation’s currency and expansion to the economy than was probably expected even by its strongest promoters. Still, there continued to be considerable opposition to it as an institution. Many congressmen argued that the bank was unconstitutional, possessed a monopoly on money, and favored the commercial North over the agricultural South. In 1811 these opponents refused to renew the charter of the First Bank of the United States.

Facing financial woes and inflation accompanying the War of 1812, Congress sought to revive the central bank. As the charter for the Second Bank of the United States was patterned after the first, it faced the same strenuous scrutiny and a long and difficult fight. Finally, in 1816, economic instability facilitated its recharter for twenty years. Over time the role of the Second Bank in the economy increased. Perhaps most importantly, it became the de facto bank regulator and lender to state banks.

Andrew Jackson’s disaffection with the powerful central bank and its "paper money" can be traced as far back as the First Bank of the US. Jackson lost everything during the time when the market expansion and the availability of western lands should have offered safe opportunities for economic improvement to more and more individuals. Jackson blamed the banking system for his personal financial misfortunes (all involving land speculation and worthless bank notes). With overwhelming support of the masses, Jackson was elected president in 1828 and given power to seek change. In 1829, he warned Congress in his first annual address that "both the constitution and the expediency of the law creating this are well questioned by a large portion of our fellow citizens." With this statement President Jackson declared war on the Second Bank of the United States.

Sources

Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition. New York: Random House, Vintage Books Edition, 1989.

Rockoff, Hugh, and Gary M. Walton. History of the American Economy. Ohio: Thomson South Western, 2005.

Objectives

Students will examine primary documents and secondary sources to analyze the life and presidency of Andrew Jackson in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Students will be able to identify assumptions and biases that they bring to historical analysis.
Students will be able to identify the major social, political, and economic trends of the first half of the nineteenth century.
Students will be able to examine the effects of the Market Revolution.
Students will be engaged in historical research and the critical analysis of documents related to the Market Revolution and the role of the federal government.
Students will be engaged in historical research and critical analysis of Andrew Jackson.

Lesson Activities

Activity One: Setting the Stage for the Bank War—Cooperative Research

The rise and fall of a national bank in the United States took place at a particular time in our history. It is important to fully understand the context of both the creation and the demise of the institution.
Divide the class into six groups. Assign each group one of the following topics:

The Market Revolution
Biography of Andrew Jackson
The First Bank of the United States
The Panic of 1819
The Second Bank of the United States
Effects of the veto on the economy

Have each group share its research on the assigned topic with the class. The following sites will be helpful:

The Market Revolution

Brief definition of the Market Revolution, Prentice Hall
Notes on Charles Sellers’s research on the topic, Mount Holyoke College

Biographical Information: Andrew Jackson

Biography, The White House
Politics and Elections, NC State Library

Andrew Jackson Quotations

"The bold effort the present (central) bank had made to control the government . . . are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it."

"Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves."

Additional Quotes

Activity Two: Panel Discussion on the Second Bank of the United States

Select six panelists—three to speak in favor of the Bank and three to speak against it. Select a student moderator as well.

The panelists will:

Prepare an opening speech on the group’s analysis of and position on the Second Bank of the United States. Each of the panelists should participate in the speech. The historical context and the group’s position on the Bank should be included in the speech.
Respond to questions about the Bank and the contents of their presentation.

The moderator will:

Introduce the issue for the panel discussion.
Prepare questions for panelists and deliver them after the presentations.
Direct questions from the audience (all non-panelist members of the class) to the panelists.

Extension

Essay: To what extent did Andrew Jackson’s veto of the Second Bank of the United States reflect the values and beliefs of the Jacksonian Democrats?