Preview

Why Is It Important To Create A National Currency?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
550 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is It Important To Create A National Currency?
The Bank of the United States was a necessity that our nation could not do without because it created a national currency, created profits, and the government could control inflation. The father of this idea was Alexander Hamilton, who wanted a bank system similar to the Bank of England. The bank, that was modeled after the Bank of England, would be able to hold government funds, collect taxes, and make loans to the government when taxes were low. The bank would be the capstone of Hamilton's financial plan. His plan to conquer the debts from the Revolutionary War was for the states debts and federal debts all be assumed by the federal government. This was under the impression that it would bring the states closer to the national government. …show more content…
Paper money issued during the Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation had no value.
Depositors would leave large amounts of gold and silver coins in their bank accounts for safekeeping. In exchange the coins, depositors would be given bank notes that showed that amount had been deposited. People wouldn’t withdraw their gold and silver coins because they knew that it had guaranteed value in the vaults and sellers would accept bank notes as funds. But since the states could set the value of the gold and silver, bank notes were not equal in value from state to state. With a national currency, bank notes had the same value because of equal values in the gold and silver coins that backed them.

The National Bank of the United States not only set equal currency values, but created profit. Through public stock offering, private investors could purchase shares by buying three fourths of the share in government bonds. This allowed the bank to receive a consistent flow of interest payments. This was popular to investors because they had a small chance of losing money and a high chance of gaining money. The government was also able to take out loans, usually when taxes were low. The constant circulate of taxes being deposited and loans being taken out helped create

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    AP U.S. History Goal 1: DQs

    • 2550 Words
    • 11 Pages

    - George Washington chose the talented Alexander Hamilton, who had served with him throughout the Revolutionary War, to take on the challenge of directing federal economic policy as the Secretary of Treasury. The first issue that Hamilton tackled as Washington's Secretary of Treasury concerned the problem of public credit. Governments at all levels had taken on so much debt during the Revolution. The commitment to pay them back was not taken very seriously. By the late 1780s, the value of such public securities had decreased to a small fraction of their face value. In other words, state IOU's — the money borrowed to finance the Revolution — was viewed as nearly worthless. Hamilton's vision for reshaping the American economy included a federal charter for a national financial institution. He proposed a Bank of the United States. Modeled along the lines of the Bank of England, a central bank would help make the new nation's economy dynamic through a more stable paper currency. The central bank faced significant opposition. Many feared it would fall under the influence of wealthy, urban northeasterners and speculators from overseas. In the end, with the support of George Washington, the bank was chartered with its first headquarters in Philadelphia. The third major area of Hamilton's economic plan aimed to make American manufacturers self-sufficient. The American economy had traditionally rested upon large-scale agricultural exports to pay for the import of British manufactured goods. Hamilton thought that this dependence on expensive foreign goods kept the American economy at a limited level, especially when compared to the rapid growth of early industrialization in Great Britain. Rather than accept this condition, Hamilton wanted the United States to adopt a mercantilist…

    • 2550 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jackson Biddle Dbq

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The idea of a central central bank was supported by those who were involved in commercial or industrial activities. These people wanted a stronger currency and the economy to be centrally controlled by the government. Over people like farmers distrusted the federal government and thought the government should not have that much control. The fate of the bank depending on who Jackson took the side of.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Apush Chapter 8 Outlines

    • 952 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Panic of 1819: state banks over-issued notes, sparked by a sharp drop in world agricultural prices…

    • 952 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mcculoh v maryland

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 1791, as part of his financial plan, Secretary of The Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed that Congress charter a Bank of the United States, to serve as a central bank of the country. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson opposed the notion, stating that the Constitution did not specifically give Congress such a power which was under a limited government because Congress had no powers other than those specifically given to it. Upon hearing of Jefferson’s opinion Hamilton responded by arguing that Congress had all powers except those specifically denied to in the constitution also known as the “necessary and proper” clause Of Article l. Washington who was president at the time had agreed with Hamilton and there was when the bank was given a twenty-year charter that would expire in 1811. It wasn’t until the war of 1812 that President Madison realized the United States needed a central bank. He had recommended another bank be opened and in 1816 congress chartered a Second bank of the United States which quickly established branches throughout the Union.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1775, the Congress printed “continentals,” a paper note that was printed in massive quantities that led to rapidly accelerating inflation, causing them to go out of commission. Later, in 1791, at the urge of then Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, the Congress established the First Bank of the United States, which became the largest company in the nation. The political climate was inclining towards the idea of a central bank again in 1816, so by a narrow margin, the Congress managed to charter the Second Bank of the United States. However, later, Andrew Jackson, an anti-central-bank man, was elected in 1828, and he vowed to stop it. From 1836 to 1865, state-chartered banks and uncharted “free banks” roamed the nation, issuing their…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The original political parties in America differed on their views of National Bank VS State banks. After many months of battling, they started to come up with their banks in September 17, 1787. Hamilton who was leading the federalist decided that it was a good idea to create a strong national bank. On the other hand, Jefferson who was leading the democratic-republicans thought it was a better idea to create a state bank. Hamilton believed that getting a national bank would be a place for the federal government to deposit money raised from the taxes.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bimetallism Pros And Cons

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages

    23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. The Federal Reserve System was created in part as a response to the severe financial panic of 1907 and to stabilize gold and create currency values. The gold standard broke down during World War I after countries except the United States had to abandon it for military spending. After the war, countries returned to the modified gold standard. Once the Great Depression hit, the Federal Reserve pursued a policy of deflation which it allowed the money in circulation to drop in relation to its gold reserves. This caused many banks to fail which caused an explosion in public demand to redeem Federal Reserve notes for gold. By early March of 1933 the gold reserve was below the 40% legal limit because people started hoarding gold instead of depositing them for paper currency (McGraw-Hill). This was because the public did not trust the banks…

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This was very similar to the Jacksonian policy of ending the bank of the United States and putting the money in "pet banks," or state banks, around the country. However, to the dislike of Jackson, these banks were now able to print large amounts of paper money that helped fuel the economy. Populists wanted this to continue, to help counter the deflation of agricultural goods. Some Jacksonians liked this paper money, others wanted hard money, meaning gold and silver coins. The free coinage of silver and the opposition to the gold standard was a Populist quality. Sticking with just silver would allow inflation, good for the farmers, who had suffered from deflation. Populists continued the common man's fight over the currency issue. They also pushed hard for a graduated income tax. This kind of tax, forcing the rich to pay more money than the poor, soon became the law of the land with the passage of the 16th Amendment to the…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    He sought to use Britain’s economic model to create a nation that would one day be as influential as Britain. To do this, Hamilton would have to create a federal bank that would handle the economy and fund a strong government. He knew the United States would have secure currency that everyone trusted if the Bank of the United States was authorized. Hamilton believed that a bank was necessary for the advancement of the U.S. He said. “The powers contained in a constitution. . . ought to be construed liberally in advancement of the public good.” Jefferson had quite the opposite views on the Bank of the United States. He was against the idea of the bank because it would centralize powers in the big northern cities. Jefferson also feared that the banks would only benefit the rich. He did not believe that Congress had the power to create the Bank of the Unites States. Jefferson defended his beliefs by saying, “The second general phrase is to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the enumerated powers. But they can all be carried into execution without a bank. A bank therefore is not necessary, and consequently not authorized by this phrase”. Hamilton and Jefferson also…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alexander Hamilton had a very important role in the founding of our nation. When George Washington was elected president, he appointed Alexander Hamilton to the role of Secretary of Treasury, for the country was in a great amount of debt due to the Revolutionary War. To assist in trying to reduce the debt, Hamilton, who had been forming ideas of a national bank in about 1779, suggested that Congress should charter the national bank. He believed the bank should have a start of $10 million in which $2 million would be handled by the government. This bill passed through the senate without issue, but the problem would be with the House of Representatives.…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    3_02_JeffersonHamilton

    • 596 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A national bank is absolutely necessary and vital to the operation of this country. The bank is to implement a high tax on imports that may compete with American goods. By taxing, more emphasis is put on buying American goods, thus stimulating the economy. A national bank will establish good credit with other countries. America is in some $25 million dollars of debt; creating a national bank will raise nearly ten million dollars through private investment.…

    • 596 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America was facing several problems. The British military had more power than the American army. Since the American army was reduced as a cost-cutting measure, it needed to be expanded again. However, raising the funds for the war was delayed because there was no longer a national bank. In 1791 Alexander Hamilton was a supporter of the First Bank of the United States and helped create a twenty-year charter. Having a national bank was important to the Federalists, and that a national bank was essential for the nation. Yet,…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jefferson didn't agree with the idea of a National Bank because it was not in the Constitution. Hamilton wanted to create the National Bank of the United States. Hamilton said that the government could make a National Bank because it falls under the "necessary and proper" clause. The Clause gave the government the power to pass laws. Hamilton also stated that the writers of the Constitution could not have known that there would be a need for a National Bank.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thomas Jefferson: “Men, today we choose if America will have liberty or allow private banks to control our money and country.” Alexander Hamilton: “No, we must have a national bank in order to collect debt from each state during the war and pay it off in an orderly fashion” Thomas Jefferson: “Hamilton, you have failed to realize the purpose of our revolution which was to rid ourselves from heavy regulations and control of a central government. The introduction of of a bank will cause an abuse of power and would do so in the future.” Alexander Hamilton:…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Banks In The 1920's

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages

    On March 9th Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act of 1933 dictating a number of actions the President and the Federal Reserve Banks could take in a state of emergency or war. This act gave the President the ability to regulate credit and sale of gold both foreign and domestic. It also gave Federal Banks the ability to give Federal Reserve Notes which would hold value until March 3, 1934 or when the President declares them unnecessary. This was followed by the Glass-Steagall Act and the Gold Reserve Act which prevented speculative spending of bank securities and made all monetary gold a possession of the US…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics