Describe Andrew Jackson’s war with the second bank of the United States, Be sure to include key people, events and effects within your response.
The second bank was the central depository bank for all the federal funds by 1816. Andrew Jackson was set on eliminating the bank because he believed that it was biased tow2ards the industrialization and urbanization of the northern side more than the western side. To him, it represented the oppression of the poor by the rich (Hammond 1957).
In 1829 when Andrew Jackson was first elected into the white house he launched investigation into the bank (Hammond, 1956). He no longer wanted it to function as the federal bank, but as much as he tried he still faced opposition. The then director of the bank, Nicholas Biddle, influenced most of the powerful business men against. He also got assistance from politically powerful members of the congress like the then Kentucky senator Henry Clay and Daniel Webster (Hammond, 1956)
The congressional Clay-Calhoun alliance came into full swing. Henry vied for presidency against Andrew during the 1833 election, using the second bank scandal against Andrew. Unfortunately his mission backfired as the public was impressed by the actions of Andrew of fighting for equal treatment of every citizen regardless of his social class and against all odds. On September 10th 1833 Andrew withdrew all the federal money from the second bank and finally accomplished in shutting down the bank and officially in 1836 the banks charter expired.
As much as Andrew had all the glory for finally putting a stop to the oppression of the people he did not go untouched, he was charged with the forceful implementation of his will which is tantamount to abuse of power and office, (Hammond, 1957).
References
Hammond, Bray. (1956). Jackson’s Fight with the Money Power. Volume VII, American Heritage Publishing Company.
Hammond, Bray. (1957). Banks and Politics in America, from the Revolution to the Civil War. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
