The Bank War

  • Second National Bank

    Second National Bank
    The first national bank Alexander Hamilton proposed which was well supported under Federalist rule, shortly fell after the Republican Party got power. Due to this national debt and inflation went up by extreme amounts and led James Monroe, a Republican, to propose the idea of a second national bank. This was deemed constitutional under the Supreme Court's ruling in the case McCullock v. Maryland where they ruled the bank as constitutional.
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    The Bank War

  • McCullock v. Maryland

    McCullock v. Maryland
    In this case, the court decided that Maryland could not impose tax on the bank. Along with this, the court all agreed that Congress had the power to incorporate the bank and that Maryland or any state could not tax instruments of the national government employed in Constitutional powers. This means that the national bank is constitutional and that is the very thing Jackson opposed later.
  • The panic of 1819

    The panic of 1819
    During this panic, all banks failed, some workers were unemployed, investment, agriculture, and the economy collapsed. So the government took more control over credit reserves and this lasted until 1821.
  • Nicholas Biddle

    Nicholas Biddle
    Even though most didn't support the national bank, Biddle made it successful and got it seen in better eyes.
  • Jackson's veto's the renewal of the bank

    Jackson's veto's the renewal of the bank
    Jackson sent an early renewal to close the national bank and he did this by stating the bank was unconstitutional and this got Congress to look into it.
  • Election of 1832

    Election of 1832
    During 1832 Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay competed for presidency and Jackson had an overwhelming victory. This showed a divide in the nation and showed what could happen in the future.
  • The formation of the Whigs

    The formation  of the Whigs
    After the election, Alexanders former political opponents formed a new political party called, the Whigs. The term whigs is a British term derived from the opposition to "Jackson's tyrannical rule". It took a while for them to gain unity, but during the 1832 elections, their candidate, William Henry Harrison, lost to Jackson's second VP, Martin Van Buren.
  • Jackson's Victory

    Jackson's Victory
    Jackson had a breathtaking victory over Henry Clay in 1832 and with this victory, he decided to try and end the Second National Bank, and he did this by ending government deposits in the bank.
  • Fall of the Second National Bank

    Fall of the Second National Bank
    No Bills were passed to renew the bank, so it fell, this left the government without a central bank for over a decade.
  • Election of 1836

    Election of 1836
    With the increase in popularity, Jackson and the Democrats, Martin Van Burren won with a total of 170 electoral votes. He had a major victory against the first candidate of the Whig family such as who only got 73 votes.
  • Panic of 1837

    Panic of 1837
    This followed the election of Van Burren and the state banks became the primary holders of the federal currency and began printing it in large causing a rise in inflation. In response, he opened a temporary treasury which separated federal and national, but this was overturned in 1841.
  • Election of 1840

    Election of 1840
    During the divided America of 1840 which was suffering due to economic depression thanks to the Democrats not supporting the bank, Van Buren (a candidate for president) was likely to lose to the candidate Henry Harrison and the Whigs who grew massively in popularity. Harrison became president, but shortly after his election he died, and his VP, John Tyler, had completely different beliefs than the Whig party. This led Tyler's administration to do nothing and this only caused more separation.