Alexander Hamilton and the First Bank of the United States
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Alexander Hamilton and the First Bank of the United States
Dr. McCormick
AMH2010
December 3, 2009
Alexander Hamilton and the First Bank of the United States
On December 14, 1790, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton conveyed to the House of Representatives one of his most famous public documents, the plan for his national bank. Hamilton’s proposed establishment of a national bank was one of the primary components of his ambitious but controversial fiscal plan to stabilize and stimulate the economy. The plan for a national bank was not Hamilton’s alone, although he was its strongest enthusiast, and he fought the hardest for its implementation.
The First Bank of the United States was needed because the government had a substantial amount of debt from the Revolutionary War, and the nation’s finances were in a state of distress. Also, each state had their own form of currency already in circulation (Cowen). Up to the time of the bank’s charter, coins and bills issued by state banks served as the currency of the young country. The leaders of the budding nation were well aware that their troubled finances were not unique, and Hamilton was especially aware of historical precedent concerning his national bank. Because the leaders of the United States were English by heritage, their knowledge of banking and financing were largely English in origin. The one great banking and commercial institution with which they were familiar with was the Bank of England (Morgan 473). Most American leaders of the Confederation period knew something of the history of that bank’s operations. This is the basis for which Alexander Hamilton would start formulating his plan for a national bank, starting ten years before its charter, in 1781. But with Hamilton’s bank proposal came controversy over whether it was a genius financial plan, or just another appalling initiative. It was eyed with great suspicion by...
Dr. McCormick
AMH2010
December 3, 2009
Alexander Hamilton and the First Bank of the United States
On December 14, 1790, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton conveyed to the House of Representatives one of his most famous public documents, the plan for his national bank. Hamilton’s proposed establishment of a national bank was one of the primary components of his ambitious but controversial fiscal plan to stabilize and stimulate the economy. The plan for a national bank was not Hamilton’s alone, although he was its strongest enthusiast, and he fought the hardest for its implementation.
The First Bank of the United States was needed because the government had a substantial amount of debt from the Revolutionary War, and the nation’s finances were in a state of distress. Also, each state had their own form of currency already in circulation (Cowen). Up to the time of the bank’s charter, coins and bills issued by state banks served as the currency of the young country. The leaders of the budding nation were well aware that their troubled finances were not unique, and Hamilton was especially aware of historical precedent concerning his national bank. Because the leaders of the United States were English by heritage, their knowledge of banking and financing were largely English in origin. The one great banking and commercial institution with which they were familiar with was the Bank of England (Morgan 473). Most American leaders of the Confederation period knew something of the history of that bank’s operations. This is the basis for which Alexander Hamilton would start formulating his plan for a national bank, starting ten years before its charter, in 1781. But with Hamilton’s bank proposal came controversy over whether it was a genius financial plan, or just another appalling initiative. It was eyed with great suspicion by...