All Presidents ' Bankers : The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power By Nomi Prins

The Bank of the United States was designed to make money and build an economy. It was designed by men like Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris, but did not benefit the common citizen as much as wealthy investors. Why did a fledgling government need to borrow millions from overseas in order to invest in a “national” bank, to turn around and then borrow the same money back and pay interest on it? The banking system developed by Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris was prime pickings for speculators, and laid the groundwork for a history of unscrupulous activity regarding our nation’s money supply that continues to this day. The signatures on the Constitution were barely dry before corruption and

He believed that the Bank has to be abolished due to several reasons. First of all, the bank concentrated the nation's wealth in a single institution which created an unhealthy for the economy monopoly. Second of all, he believed that the bank favored the wealthy over the common people. The third reason was that the bank had too much control over members of Congress. In other words, the subsidy of the bank to one particular party or the lack of the finance could influence the results of the elections at some point. And the bank also favored northeastern states over southern and western states. Thus, Jackson succeeded in destroying the Bank by vetoing its 1832 re-charter by Congress and by withdrawing U.S. funds in 1833. This action led to federal money being put into state banks who then loaned it out freely leading to inflation. State banks were issuing paper banknotes that were not backed by gold or silver reserves which led to rapid inflation. Moreover, the expansion of credit and speculation took place. As a result, state banks collapsed which was a cause of the Panic of 1837. However, despite the crisis and depression, the liquidation of the Bank was an achievement of Jackson’s presidency and led to trivial of the economy later on.

Hamilton’s creation of the first bank in the United States continues to exist in today’s economic environment. However, at that time Hamilton’s proposal was met with widespread resistance from individuals such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson who considered the creation of a federal bank as unconstitutional. The analysis made by Gordon in his book is consistent with arguments made by to have a bank that would be effective in order to implement the powers authorized by the government as it was implied in the constitution

Madison sided with the public in believing that very few would benefit from this plan. The national bank caused congress to think hard about the results of how the national bank would affect the economy for better or worse, and for farmers and speculators.

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

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.

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.

Banks that were destroyed during the Great Depression were saved by these great men. “Some banks could not be saved but the great majority of them, either through their own resources or with government aid have been restored to complete public confidence.” (Text 3, Lines 9-10). This quote is explaining that banks that had collapsed received help from the government, gave safety and restored confidence which was a pro of FDR and his administration. Not only did these men assure the country their safety, they improved many industrializing things. One way that FDR received enterprise was becoming involved in the field of investment and improving conditions. “The second step we have taken in the restoration of normal business enterprise has been to clean up thoroughly unwholesome conditions in the field of investment” (Text 3, Lines 17-19). In other words, they straightened up any financial and economic problems occurring in the country by correcting the investment fields, causing a rise of the country’s happiness and confidence that FDR and his administration will support their struggles. To wrap up, FDR and his administration revitalized enterprise during the Great

Secondly, out of the twenty-five stockholders of the Bank, five of these were government owned. Thus showing support of the Bank by subscribing to one-fifth of its $35 million (Schlesinger 74). In addition, among the Bank’s functions was to hold all government money, sell all government bonds, and make commercial loans. However, no voters could dictate its policies or reign in its power, due to its privately owned status (Roughshod 2). Finally, the government also allowed bank notes to be used as payment for taxes.

The Bank of the United States had the most power out of all the banks in America and it was the primary depository for the funds of the Washington government. Although, it controlled and minted much of the nation’s gold and silver, it did not distribute paper money. Unlike many smaller banks, the national bank was stable in value and vital to expanding the nations economy. However, the Bank of the United States was a private institution, not accountable to the people rather just to its wealthy moneyed investors. Nicholas Biddle, the banks president, held an immense and unconstitutional amount of power over the nations financial affairs. Some, including Jackson believed that the bank’s existence was against the equality advocated through American democracy. The Bank War began in 1832, when Daniel Webster and Henry Clay presented Congress with a bill to renew the Bank’s charter, even though it was not set to expire until 1836. Clay’s motive for pushing the bill four years earlier was to cause an election issue, however many had the same views on the bank as Jackson. The bill was passed and immediately vetoed by Jackson. His veto message resonated with constitutional consequences and increased the power of presidency, yet Jackson vetoed this bill because he believed the federal government did not have the power to control the nations

In section 3, Jackson and the Bank, chapter 10 we learned about the Bank of the United States, Andrew Jackson against the Bank of the United States, the Election of 1832, the causes of economic problems. The first thing about the section is the Bank of the United States and the Bank of the United States is a that held government money and controlled the country’s money. The second thing is why Andrew Jackson is against and what he did to the Bank of the United States. Andrew Jackson was against the bank because everything that Nicholas Biddle represented, Jackson disliked. To kill the bank before the bank kills Andrew, Andrew must take out all the money from the bank and then deposit into state banks. Third is that two months after Van Buren

For this assignment I picked “the role of the Federal Reserve” a mere recital of the economic policies of government all over the world is calculated to cause any serious student of economics to throw up his hands in despair (pg, 74). The Federal Reserve is now in the business of enforcing the United States government’s drug laws, even if that means making a mockery of both state governments’ right to set their drug policies and the Fed’s governing statutes. A Federal Reserve official who played a key role in the government 's response to the 2008 financial crisis says the government should do more to prevent a repeat of that crisis and should consider whether the nation 's biggest banks need to be broken up. Neel Kashkari says he believes the most major banks still continue to pose a "significant, ongoing" economic risk. The next ten years will see an explosion of government debt and an implosion of government’s ability to fulfill its promises. Any economic or investment model based on past performance under previous economic conditions will be worthless just as useless as the Federal Reserve’s models.

The removal of the Bank of the United States promoted democracy because Jackson wanted Southern farmers to have the same financial opportunities as the rich Northerners. Jackson believed that the U.S. Bank benefited the rich Easterners and had a monopoly on federal deposits (Section 14.6 “Jackson Battle the Bank of the United States”). He also believed that the U.S. Bank did not benefit the farmers, workers, and smaller state banks at all (Section 14.6). In 1833, Jackson ordered for the federal deposits to be redirected to the state banks (Video Notes: Andrew Jackson). He believed that the shutting down of the bank was a win for economic democracy (Section

After the Revolutionary War, many of the country’s citizens were in great debit and there was widespread economic disruption. The country was in need of an economic overhaul and the new country’s leaders would need to decide how to do this to ensure the new country did not fall apart. After two unsuccessful attempts at a national banking system, the Federal Reserve System was created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Since its inception, the Federal Reserve System has evolved into a central banking system that grows with the country. The Federal Reserve System provides this country with a central bank that is able to pursue consistent monetary policies. My goal in this paper is to help the reader to understand why the Federal

     Something had to be done about the banking system disintegration, and the most conservative business leaders were as ready for government intervention as the most advanced radicals (Garraty 765). It was unquestionably Franklin D. Roosevelt who provided the spark that reenergized the American people (Garraty 765).