Banking-System

Panic of 1837 Begins as Banks Refuse Specie Conversion, Triggering Five-Year Depression

1837-05-10 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Just two months into Martin Van Buren’s presidency, major New York state banks refuse to convert paper money into gold or silver on May 10, 1837, having exhausted their hard currency reserves. Other financial institutions across the country quickly follow suit, triggering the Panic of 1837—a …

Martin Van Buren Andrew Jackson New York banks State banks U.S. Congress financial-crisis economic-policy banking-system panic-1837 jackson-era +1 more

Jackson Issues Specie Circular Requiring Hard Money for Land Purchases, Triggering Credit Contraction

1836-07-11 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

President Andrew Jackson orders Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury to issue the Specie Circular, an executive order requiring that payment for public lands be made exclusively in gold or silver (specie) rather than paper currency, effective August 15, 1836 for purchases over 320 acres. The policy aims …

Andrew Jackson Levi Woodbury Martin Van Buren U.S. Treasury Department Land speculators financial-manipulation economic-policy jackson-era banking-system land-speculation +1 more

Nicholas Biddle Deliberately Contracts Credit to Create "Biddle's Panic" and Force Bank Recharter

1833-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Following Andrew Jackson’s September 1833 removal of federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States, Bank president Nicholas Biddle responds by deliberately contracting credit nationwide to create economic distress and force Jackson to reverse his policy. Biddle raises interest …

Nicholas Biddle Second Bank of the United States Andrew Jackson Henry Clay U.S. Congress +2 more financial-manipulation economic-sabotage banking-system jackson-era institutional-corruption

Jackson Removes Federal Deposits to "Pet Banks" Selected Through Political Patronage, Not Financial Merit

1833-09-26 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President Andrew Jackson orders the removal of federal government deposits from the Second Bank of the United States and their redistribution to state-chartered banks derisively called “pet banks” because they are selected based on political loyalty rather than financial soundness. The …

Andrew Jackson Roger Taney Louis McLane William J. Duane U.S. Congress +1 more financial-manipulation institutional-corruption patronage jackson-era banking-system +1 more

Jackson Vetoes Second Bank Recharter, Triggering Financial Manipulation by Both Sides

1832-07-10 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President Andrew Jackson vetoes legislation to renew the Second Bank of the United States’ charter, four years before its scheduled expiration, delivering a “popular and effective” message declaring the Bank “unauthorized by the Constitution, subversive to the rights of …

Andrew Jackson Nicholas Biddle Henry Clay Daniel Webster Second Bank of the United States financial-manipulation institutional-corruption economic-policy jackson-era banking-system