Jackson and the Bank

  • 2nd Bank of 1816

    In 1828, Andrew Jackson hero of the Battle of New Orleans and a determined foe of banks in general and the second Bank of the United States in particular, was elected president of the United States.
  • Panic of 1819

    The Panic of 1819 was the first major economic crisis in the US, triggered by the end of the wars between France and Britain.
  • Mulloch v. Maryland

    McCulloch v. Maryland was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1819 that shaped the balance of power between the federal and state governments. In 1818, Maryland legislators passed a law imposing a stamp tax on currency issued by the Second Bank of the United States, in an effort to hinder it from doing business. In response, a cashier at the bank’s Baltimore branch, James W. McCulloch, refused to pay the tax.
  • Jackson Vetoes Bill

    Jackson vetoed the bill and issued a lengthy address defending his decision on policy and constitutional grounds. He reiterated his long-standing position that the bank gave privileges to the wealthy at the expense of the rest of the country and gave advantages to foreign stockholders. His address focused on the constitutionality of the bank. The fact that the Supreme Court had ruled the bank constitutional did not, in Jackson’s view, necessarily make it so.
  • Election of 1832

    The United States presidential election of 1832 saw incumbent President Andrew Jackson, candidate of the Democratic Party, easily win reelection against Henry Clay of Kentucky. Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes cast, defeating Clay, the candidate of the National Republican Party, and Anti-Masonic Party candidate William Wirt.
  • Pet Banks

  • The Whig Party

  • Panic of 1837

  • The Election of 1840