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Devised by James Madison, who had previously sided against its original creation, the Second National Bank was signed into existence in 1816. Its creation was meant to take away from the vast powers that state banks began to develop. This National Bank's way of payment was either in gold or silver, making it unpopular with the citizens who were less wealthy. -
During this time, due to a combination of inflation and differing ways of banking, the country fell into a state of financial panic. As the economy collapsed, many lost their jobs, banks went out of business, and agriculture tanked until its end in 1821. -
During the time surrounding the 1832 election, and also the point in time when the Second National Bank's charter was about to end, Nicholas Biddle along with Congress and other figures such as Henry Clay met together to discuss its recharter. Wanting to force Jackson into taking a stand on either side, they passed a bill for the Bank to be recharted and sent it to the president awaiting its outcome. -
Upon vetoing the bill, Jackson deemed the Bank's existence unconstitutional. Further adding to his point, he claimed that because of its gold and silver currency, along with the panic that ensued from it, the only ones who benefitted would be the rich and wealthy men in the country. Adding to the tension between him and the president, Biddle did everything in his power to reverse this outcome, only to find that Congress was no longer on his side. -
Despite Henry Clay's attempts to use the veto of the Recharter Bill against him, Jackson will won the election for a second presidential term. -
The Whig Party was created by Henry Clay after he lost the 1832 election to Jackson. Their sole purpose was to contradict everything Jackson stood for, and they mainly wanted a National Bank and tariffs. -
At this time, Andrew Jackson told the Treasury to take the funds and income from the National Bank and give more to the state banks, which would eventually be called "pet banks." -
After the original people Jackson ordered to redirect the funding for state banks to resigned, the second hired individuals carried out his request. Despite this, Nicholas Biddle still attempted to rebel against Jackson's order by calling in debts for example. After this, Jackson planned to establish a "hard money" type of currency rather than the previous and already-failed bank notes. -
In order for someone to buy property, the exchange would need to be paid with gold or silver rather than paper money. The reasoning for this Act, passed in 1836 by Jackson, was intended to put the ever-rising inflation to a halt, as well as maintain a stable federal income. -
Shortly after Martin van Buren was elected president, prices began to drop, tens of thousands lost their jobs, and the country spiraled into a depression financially. Due to the lack of supplies such as food, many riots and mobs broke out. -
Being one of the first elections to have a two-party system, the 1840 election featured incumbent Martin van Buren against Whig Party representative William Henry Harrison. In the end, Harrison and his party won by spreading propaganda concerning his victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe previously, along with pointing out all the faults in van Buren's presidency concerning the economic depression.