Did Alexander Hamilton actually ever establish a national bank?I know that was part of his plan. And I know that Jefferson and Madison deemed it unconstitutional. And I know that Hamilton convinced Washington to sign it, due to the elastic clause, but was there an actual bank ever established? And if so, did it stick around? Or what happened? And no, this isn't a... |
Yes, it was called the First Bank of the United States.
The First Bank was a bank chartered by the United States Congress on February 25, 1791. The charter was for 20 years. The Bank was created to handle the financial needs and requirements of the central government of the newly formed United States, which had previously been thirteen individual states with their own banks, currencies, financial institutions, and policies.
Officially proposed by Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, to the first session of the First Congress in 1790, the concept for the Bank had both its support and origin in and among Northern merchants and more than a few New England state governments. It was, however, eyed with great suspicion by the representatives of the Southern States, whose chief industry, agriculture, did not require centrally concentrated banks, and whose feelings of states' rights and suspicion of Northern motives ran strong.
The bank's charter expired in 1811 under President James Madison. The bill to recharter failed in the House of Representatives by one vote, 65 to 64, on January 24, 1811. It failed in the Senate when Vice President George Clinton broke a tie vote that February 20. In 1816, however, Madison revived it in the form of the Second Bank of the United States because of rising debts from the War of 1812 and ineffective state banks.
The First Bank of the United States was chartered in 1791 for twenty years. Its charter expired in 1811. The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1814 and its charter expired in 1834. Since 1834 there has not been a central bank in the U.S. The Federal Reserve System similar to the central bank system except that there is not one, but 12, banks.
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 – July 12, 1804) was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
, a Founding Father
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or otherwise took part in the American Revolution in winning American independence from Great Britain, or who participated in framing and adopting the United States Constitution...
, economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
, and political philosopher. Aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775–1797, leading the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783, and presiding over the writing of the...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War or American War of Independence began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers....
, he was a leader of nationalist forces calling for a new Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of laws that a set of people have made and agreed upon for government—often as a written document—that enumerates and limits the powers and functions of a political entity. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
; he was one of America's first Constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law dealing with the distribution and exercise of government power.Not all nation states have codified constitutions, though all such states have a jus commune, or law of the land, that may consist of a variety of imperative and consensual rules...
yers, and wrote most of the Federalist Papers
Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...
, a primary source for Constitutional interpretation. Hamilton was the primary author of the economic policies of the George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775–1797, leading the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783, and presiding over the writing of the...
Administration, especially the funding of the state debts by the Federal government, the establishment of a national bank, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain.
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Degree in History and Spanish, New Mexico State U. 1990
