-
Charter of the 2nd Bank; 1816
After the War of 1812, the economic stability of the US was not great. Hence, Congress decided to charter the Second Bank to provide uniform currency, stabilize the financial systems, and help regulate the state banks. -
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was one of the first big financial crisis in the US. It was caused by a drop in land prices as well as tight credit conditions. This led to bank failures almost everywhere and business went bankrupt so they weren't able to pay people for working so a lot of people became unemployed. All of this caused a big negative impact on the economy and a lot of people began to loss faith in the bank. -
Bill passed in 1832 that recharters the 2nd Bank of the US
To renew the charter of the Second Bank of the US before its original charter expired Congress passed a bill. This bill was supported by Henry Clay and a lot of Republicans nationally. President Jackson did not like the bank and considered it unconstitutional and gave way too much financial power to only a few people, with this, he decided to veto the bill. -
Presidential campaign of 1832
The Presidential campaign of 1832 was between President Andrew Jackson, who was running for re-election, and Henry Clay, who was the candidate of the new National Republican Party. The main issue at this time was the future of the Second Bank of the US. Jackson was against the bank, while Clay was all for it. Jackson ended up winning this election and went on in trying to get rid of the national bank. -
Jackson orders the end of deposits of government money
After Jackson had vetoed the recharter of the Second Bank that had been proposed by Congress, he ordered that the federal funds be taken out of the bank and put instead into state-chartered banks, which were known as "pet banks." This led to the instability of the bank and contributed to the end of the bank and more financial instabilities. -
Clay & Webster create the Whig Party
This Party was formed by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster in opposition to President Jacksons policies and opposition to the Second Bank and his getting rid of it. This party advocated for a more active Federal government role in future economic development. -
1836 Britain raises interest rates
The British were forced under a lot of economic pressure and defense against changing the currency in Britain. To combat this they decided to raise the interest rates which in turn led to a decrease in the movement of money and investments into and out of businesses in the US which caused more economic problems for the US. -
Specie Circular of 1836
The Specie Circular of 1836, issued by President Jackson, made it a requirement that any payments for public land had to be made in gold or silver instead of paper currency. This aimed to curb land speculation and inflation but contributed to a contraction of credit and played a role in the financial difficulties that led to the Panic of 1837. -
Election of 1836
The Election of 1836 was between multiple Whig candidates and Martin Van Buren, Jacksons' chosen successor. This Election led to Buren winning as he had secured the majority and had broad support as well as Jacksons' influence. The Whig candidates hoped that by adding so many candidates it would help Buren to not get the majority. -
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a very bad economic depression that was caused by the banks not being able to function properly, as well as a collapse in the prices of lands and the results of the Specie Circular. Banks everywhere failed, people became unemployed, people were getting severely stressed and worried and all of this depression happened through almost all of Van Buren's presidency. -
Independent Treasury System
The Independent Treasury System was proposed by President Van Buren in hopes of fixing the financial instability that was caused by the destruction of the banks and the Panic of 1837. This system was made to separate federal funds from private banking places. It was proposed in 1837 and passed by Congress in 1840 but was not put into action until 1846 as there was a lot of opposition to it. -
Election of 1840
In this election, a Whig Party member, William Henry Harrison won against former president Martin Van Buren. Harrison was portrayed as to be a man of the people while they portrayed Buren as thinking he is better than everyone. This shifted politics greatly as it brought the Whigs to power and gave rise to new economic policies and government reforms.