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What Role Did The First Bank Play In The Financial System

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Banks play a huge role in the United States financial system today, but not many people know how banks became a thing in our country. The bank of the United States (First Bank in the U.S.) was established in 1791 in Philadelphia. It was created as a repository for federal funds, Alexander Hamilton proposed the idea of a national bank while Thomas Jefferson was against it, and in 1811 the bank lost its charter. There different thought on the first central bank in the U.S., and although it lost its charter man historians view it as a success. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783 and it left the U.S. in about $43 million in debt. 1783 was also the year that congress was given the power to tax citizens. The problem was that not all states had the same currency. Because not all states had the same currency Alexander Hamilton proposed the idea of a national bank, so that all states had the same currency and congress could …show more content…

He also pointed out that making a bank goes against the 10th amendment in the Constitution which says “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” He thought the only source that might be able to get the bank a charter was Article I, Section 8, clause 18 of the United States Constitution which states “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” But he thought if that clause could be interpreted so broadly then there wouldn’t really be any limit to congress’s power. Jefferson fought against the bank and argued that it was not right, but he lost the argument and the bank was

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