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1832 Bank Recharter Bill
The Second Bank of the United States' charter was set to expire in 1836, but Daniel Webster and Henry Clay proposed to recharter it early in order to put Andrew Jackson on shaky political ground. -
Jackson's Veto
Jackson was in strong opposition to the National Bank, while those in the North supported it as an economy stabilizer, and he vetoed the Bank Recharter Bill of 1832 due to its overly powerful market power. This upset businessmen in the North, but supporters of Jackson were glad he was fighting for the "common man." -
Election of 1832
With the political question regarding the National Bank, Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay were the two major contenders for the election, representing the Democratic and National Republican party respectively. Jackson was reelected quite easy, despite Clay's intentions with the question of the Bank on the agenda. -
Jackson Removes Federal Deposits
After issuing his veto against the Second Bank of the United States, Jackson continued his attack against the bank by issuing the removal of federal funds. Since the Secretary of Treasury was the only one legally allowed to remove funds by the bank's charter, Jackson swapped out his cabinet to match his goals. -
Biddle Response
Biddle attempted to keep the bank alive despite Jackson's efforts, and he started to demand that loans be payed back immediately. Biddle blamed financial issues on Jackson, but New England businessmen saw that he was being stricter with money policy than was necessary. -
Jackson's Pet Banks
In a further attempt to crush the Bank of the United States, Jackson raised seven state banks to spread federal deposits across. They were labeled "pet banks" by opponents to Jackson, especially businessmen from New England who saw the banks as nothing more than "bootlickers" to the President. -
Speculative Boom
The increase in speculation in the west was at first beneficial to the nation, allowing some of the national debt to be paid off, but as it continued, the question as to what to do with the surplus became debated, and those who were against Jackson did not appreciate how he was using the money. -
Specie Circular
An executive order by Andrew Jackson that required payment for government land to be in gold and silver, not paper money, due to the depreciation and uncertainty of the paper money medium. Many farmers in the south were now unable to purchase land, making them angry at this executive order. -
Crash of 1837
Heavily contributed to by over speculation in the western lands of the U.S., this financial crisis led to a drop of prices, profits, and wages, and unemployment saw a great rise. This led to more criticism of the Jackson administration, as many people in the North and South were heavily effected.
