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Camarilla

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A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the royal court but influence their ruler behind the scenes . Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice. The term derives from the Spanish word camarilla (diminutive of cámara ), meaning 'little chamber' or private cabinet of the king. It was first used of the circle of cronies around Spanish King Ferdinand VII (reigned 1814–1833). The term involves what is known as cronyism . The term also entered other languages like the Polish , German and Greek , and is used in the sense given above.

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56-574: A similar concept in modern politics is that of a Kitchen Cabinet , which is often composed of unelected advisers bypassing traditional governance practices. In particular, two groups are called camarillas: those who surrounded the Emperor Wilhelm II and the President Paul von Hindenburg . In the 19th century, Russia's government was frequently described as a "camarilla", starting as early as 1860. This usage remained common into

112-473: A protective tariff , internal improvements and the revival of a Bank of the United States . Southern and western support for a bank, led by Republican nationalists John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky, was decisive in the successful chartering effort. The charter was signed into law by James Madison on April 10, 1816. Subsequent efforts by Calhoun and Clay to earmark

168-583: A "camarilla" by multiple authors. Kitchen Cabinet A Kitchen Cabinet is a group of unofficial or private advisers to a political leader. The term was originally used by political opponents of President of the United States Andrew Jackson to describe his ginger group , the collection of unofficial advisors he consulted in parallel to the United States Cabinet (the "parlor cabinet") following his purge of

224-577: A 'pair of deserters from the Clay party' [Kendall and Blair] and a few others, familiarly known by the appellation of the 'Kitchen Cabinet,' is made the common reservoir of all the petty slanders which find a place in the most degraded prints of the Union. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd 's reliance on a kitchen cabinet (Treasurer Wayne Swan , Rudd's successor Julia Gillard and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner )

280-705: A decade earlier, the Treasury recognized the useful services it provided, and the American currency was healthy and stable. Public perceptions of the national bank were generally positive. The bank first came under attack by the Jackson administration in December 1829, on the grounds that it had failed to produce a stable national currency, and that it lacked constitutional legitimacy. Both houses of Congress responded with committee investigations and reports affirming

336-494: A direct threat to Jeffersonian agrarianism, state sovereignty and the institution of slavery , expressed by Taylor's statement that "...if Congress could incorporate a bank, it might emancipate a slave." Hostile to the regulatory effects of the national bank, private banks—proliferating with or without state charters —had scuttled rechartering of the First Bank in 1811. These interests played significant roles in undermining

392-675: A former student of Benjamin Latrobe (1764–1820), the man who is often called the first professionally trained American architect . Latrobe and Strickland were both disciples of the Greek Revival style. Strickland went on to design many other American public buildings in this style, including financial structures such as the Mechanics National Bank (also in Philadelphia). He also designed the second building for

448-499: A large set of steps leading up to the main level platform, known as the stylobate . On top of these, Strickland placed eight severe Doric columns, which are crowned by an entablature containing a triglyph frieze and simple triangular pediment . The building appears much as an ancient Greek temple, hence the stylistic name. The interior consists of an entrance hallway in the center of the north façade flanked by two rooms on either side. The entry leads into two central rooms, one after

504-576: A lengthy liquidation process, complicated by lawsuits, that ended in 1852 when it assigned its remaining assets to trustees and surrendered the state charter. The bank maintained the following branches. Listed is the year each branch opened. The Second Bank was America's national bank, comparable to the Bank of England and the Bank of France , with one key distinction – the United States government owned one-fifth (20 percent) of its capital. Whereas other national banks of that era were wholly private,

560-595: A member of the Kitchen Cabinet until he was appointed as Minister to Great Britain . Eaton was subsequently appointed Governor of Florida Territory . Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet included his longtime political allies Martin Van Buren , Francis Preston Blair , Amos Kendall , William B. Lewis , Andrew Jackson Donelson , John Overton , Isaac Hill , and Roger B. Taney . As newspapermen, Blair and Kendall were given particular notice by rival papers. Blair

616-402: A protracted recession with mass unemployment and a sharp drop in property values that persisted until 1822. The financial crisis raised doubts among the American public as to the efficacy of paper money, and in whose interests a national system of finance operated. Upon this widespread disaffection the anti-bank Jacksonian Democrats would mobilize opposition to the bank in the 1830s. The bank

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672-624: A short-lived financial crisis that was initially blamed on Jackson's executive action. By 1834, a general backlash against Biddle's tactics developed, ending the panic, and all recharter efforts were abandoned. In February 1836, the bank became a private corporation under Pennsylvania law. A shortage of hard currency ensued, causing the Panic of 1837 and lasting approximately seven years. The bank suspended payment from October 1839 to January 1841, and permanently in February 1841. It then started

728-614: A subset of the Security Cabinet of Israel comprising the Prime Minister 's most trusted advisors and derives from former Prime Minister Golda Meir 's habit of hosting meetings of her inner circle of ministers at home over cake she had baked personally. While subsequent Prime Ministers have not generally maintained the tradition of literally cooking for their ministers, the sense of an intimate group of trusted advisors has remained current since Meir's premiership. The term

784-411: A vast and profitable disbursement of bank loans to farmers, small manufacturers and entrepreneurs, encouraging rapid and healthy economic expansion. Historian Bray Hammond describes the mechanism by which the bank exerted its anti-inflationary influence: Receiving the checks and notes of local banks deposited with the [Bank] by government collectors of revenue, the [Bank] had constantly to come back on

840-400: Is also embellished by Corinthian pilasters and a symmetric arrangement of sash windows piercing the two stories of the façade. The roofline is also topped by a balustrade , and the heavy modillions adorning the pediment give the First Bank an appearance more like a Roman villa than a Greek temple. Since the bank's closing in 1841, the edifice has performed a variety of functions. Today, it

896-557: Is part of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. The structure is open to the public free of charge and serves as an art gallery, housing a large collection of portraits of prominent early Americans painted by Charles Willson Peale and many others. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 for its architectural and historic significance. The Wall Street branch in New York City

952-547: The Baltimore office had engaged in fraud and larceny. Resigning in January 1819, Jones was replaced by Langdon Cheves , who continued the contraction in credit in an effort to stop inflation and stabilize the bank, even as the economy began to correct. The bank's reaction to the crisis—a clumsy expansion, then a sharp contraction of credit—indicated its weakness, not its strength. The effects were catastrophic, resulting in

1008-652: The Bank War . Failing to secure recharter, the Second Bank became a private corporation in 1836, and underwent liquidation in 1841. There would not be national banks again until the passage of the National Bank Act . The political support for the revival of a national banking system was rooted in the early 19th century transformation of the country from simple Jeffersonian agrarianism towards one interdependent with industrialization and finance. In

1064-675: The Napoleonic Wars . It was charged with restraining uninhibited private bank note issue—already in progress —that threatened to create a credit bubble and the risks of a financial collapse. Government land sales in the West, fueled by European demand for agricultural products, ensured that a speculative bubble would form. Simultaneously, the national bank was engaged in promoting a democratized expansion of credit to accommodate laissez-faire impulses among eastern business entrepreneurs and credit-hungry western and southern farmers. Under

1120-537: The National Advisory Council , was often referred to as a "Kitchen Cabinet" by the media and general public, although the government at that time was headed by Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. In Israel , the term "kitchen cabinet" is commonly used to translate the Hebrew term המטבחון ( HaMitbahon or HaMitbachon ), which more literally translates to "the kitchenette ". The term refers to

1176-414: The U.S. Treasury . Twenty percent of its capital was owned by the federal government, the bank's single largest stockholder . Four thousand private investors held 80 percent of the bank's capital, including three thousand Europeans. The bulk of the stocks were held by a few hundred wealthy Americans. In its time, the institution was the largest monied corporation in the world. The essential function of

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1232-481: The 20th century; for instance, in 1917, commentator Robert Machray wrote of "certain forces in the background of the political life of Russia known as the 'Camarilla', which exercised and still exercise an extraordinary influence". The right-wing domestic circle with which Francisco Franco surrounded himself with in his final years at the Royal Palace of El Pardo , his official residence, has been referred to as

1288-483: The First Bank as unconstitutional, in 1816 and began operations at its main branch in Philadelphia on January 7, 1817, managing 25 branch offices nationwide by 1832. The efforts to renew the bank's charter put the institution at the center of the general election of 1832 , in which the bank's president Nicholas Biddle and pro-bank National Republicans led by Henry Clay clashed with the " hard-money " Andrew Jackson administration and eastern banking interests in

1344-420: The Second Bank was more characteristic of a government bank. Under its charter, the bank had a capital limit of $ 35 million, $ 7.5 million of which represented the government-owned share. It was required to remit a "bonus" payment of $ 1.5 million, payable in three installments, to the government for the privilege of using the public funds, interest free, in its private banking ventures. The institution

1400-515: The aftermath of the War of 1812 , the federal government suffered from the disarray of an unregulated currency and a lack of fiscal order; business interests sought security for their government bonds. A national alliance arose to legislate a national bank to address these needs. The political climate —dubbed the Era of Good Feelings —favored the development of national programs and institutions, including

1456-403: The anti-bank forces persisted in their condemnation of the bank, provoking an early recharter campaign by pro-bank National Republicans under Henry Clay . Clay's political ultimatum to Jackson —with Biddle's financial and political support —sparked the Bank War and placed the fate of the bank at center of the 1832 presidential election . Jackson mobilized his political base by vetoing

1512-459: The bank was authorized to establish branch offices where it deemed suitable, and these were immune from state taxation . The primary regulatory task of the Second Bank, as chartered by Congress in 1816, was to restrain the uninhibited proliferation of paper money (bank notes) by state or private lenders, which was highly profitable to these institutions. In this capacity, the bank would preside over this democratization of credit, contributing to

1568-433: The bank was to regulate the public credit issued by private banking institutions through the fiscal duties it performed for the U.S. Treasury, and to establish a sound and stable national currency . The federal deposits endowed the bank with its regulatory capacity. Modeled on Alexander Hamilton 's First Bank of the United States , the Second Bank was chartered by President James Madison , who in 1791 had attacked

1624-422: The bank's $ 1.5 million establishment "bonus", and annual dividends estimated at $ 650,000, as a fund for internal improvements , were vetoed by President Madison, on strict constructionist grounds. Opposition to a new bank emanated from two interests. Old Republicans , represented by John Taylor of Caroline and John Randolph of Roanoke , characterized the Second Bank as both constitutionally illegitimate and

1680-520: The building looked as if the marble statue of Don Guzman could alone have any business to transact within its gloomy walls. I hastened to inquire its name and purpose, and then my surprise vanished. It was the Tomb of many fortunes; the Great Catacomb of investment; the memorable United States Bank. The stoppage of this bank, with all its ruinous consequences, had cast (as I was told on every side)

1736-594: The cabinet at the end of the Eaton affair and his break with Vice President John C. Calhoun in 1831. The Oxford English Dictionary says that the term is "In early use depreciative, with the implication that the group wields undue influence". Its illustrative quotations show the term in use in American sources from 1832, in a British source referring to American politics in 1952, in relation to British politics in 1969, and in an American source discussing Israeli politics in 2006. Secretary of State Martin Van Buren

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1792-525: The federal government, which was its principal stockholder and customer." The chief personnel for the bank comprised 25 directors, five of whom were appointed by the President of the United States, subject to Senate approval. Federally appointed directors were barred from acting as officials in other banks. Two of the three Bank presidents, William Jones and Nicholas Biddle, were chosen from among these government directors. Headquartered in Philadelphia,

1848-418: The historical precedents for the bank's constitutionality and its pivotal role in furnishing a uniform currency. Jackson rejected these findings, and privately characterized the bank as a corrupt institution, dangerous to American liberties. Biddle made repeated overtures to Jackson and his cabinet to secure a compromise on the bank's rechartering (its term due to expire in 1836) without success. Jackson and

1904-423: The institution during the administration of U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1829–1837). The Second Bank was a national bank. However, it did not serve the functions of a modern central bank : It did not set monetary policy , regulate private banks, hold their excess reserves , or act as a lender of last resort . The bank was launched in the midst of a major global market readjustment as Europe recovered from

1960-412: The larger the sums they had to settle in specie. This loss of specie reduced their power to lend. Under this banking regime, the impulse towards over-speculation, with the risks of creating a national financial crisis, would be avoided, or at least mitigated. It was just this mechanism that the local private banks found objectionable, because it yoked their lending strategies to the fiscal operations of

2016-429: The local banks for settlements of the amounts which the checks and notes called for. It had to do so because it made those amounts immediately available to the Treasury, wherever desired. Since settlement by the local banks was in specie i.e. silver and gold coin, the pressure for settlement automatically regulated local banking lending: for the more the local banks lent the larger amount of their notes and checks in use and

2072-656: The main U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1833, as well as the New Orleans , Dahlonega , and Charlotte branch mints in the mid-to-late 1830s. Strickland's design for the Second Bank is in essence based on the Parthenon in Athens , and is a significant early and monumental example of Greek Revival architecture. The hallmarks of the Greek Revival style can be seen immediately in the north and south façades, which use

2128-499: The management of its first president William Jones , the bank failed to control paper money issued from its branch banks in the West and South, contributing to the post-war speculative land boom. When the U.S. markets collapsed in the Panic of 1819 —a result of global economic adjustments —the bank came under withering criticism for its belated tight money policies—policies that exacerbated mass unemployment and plunging property values. Further, it transpired that branch directors for

2184-415: The national government, requiring them to maintain adequate gold and silver reserves to meet their debt obligations to the U.S. Treasury. The proliferation of private-sector banking institutions – from 31 banks in 1801 to 788 in 1837 – meant that the Second Bank faced strong opposition from this sector during the Jackson administration. The architect of the Second Bank was William Strickland (1788–1854),

2240-517: The needs of the expanding American economy. Albert Gallatin , former Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison , wrote in 1831 that the bank was fulfilling its charter expectations. By the time of Jackson's inauguration in 1829, the bank appeared to be on solid footing. The Supreme Court had affirmed its constitutionality in McCulloch v. Maryland , the 1819 case which Daniel Webster had argued successfully on its behalf

2296-401: The opposite side of the way, a handsome building of white marble, which had a mournful ghost-like aspect, dreary to behold. I attributed this to the sombre influence of the night, and on rising in the morning looked out again, expecting to see its steps and portico thronged with groups of people passing in and out. The door was still tight shut, however; the same cold cheerless air prevailed: and

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2352-455: The other, that span the width of the structure east to west. The east and west sides of the first large room are each pierced by a large arched fan window. The building's exterior uses Pennsylvania blue marble , which, due to the manner in which it was cut, has begun to deteriorate due to weak parts of the stone being exposed to the elements. This phenomenon is most visible on the Doric columns of

2408-405: The recharter bill and, the veto sustained, easily won reelection on his anti-bank platform. Jackson proceeded to destroy the bank as a financial and political force by removing its federal deposits, and in 1833, federal revenue was diverted into selected private banks by executive order, ending the regulatory role of the Second Bank. In hopes of extorting a rescue of the bank, Biddle induced

2464-476: The sidelining of traditional democratic cabinet structures to rely far more on a close group of non-elected advisors and allies. Examples of this practice include Blair's reliance on advisor Andrew Adonis before his appointment to the cabinet. In colloquial U.S. usage, "kitchen cabinet" refers to any group of trusted friends and associates, particularly in reference to a president's or presidential candidate's closest unofficial advisers. Lisa Yoon extends use of

2520-462: The south façade. Construction lasted from 1819 to 1824. The Greek Revival style used for the Second Bank contrasts with the earlier, Federal style in architecture used for the First Bank of the United States , which also still stands and is located nearby in Philadelphia. This can be seen in the more Roman-influenced Federal structure's ornate, colossal Corinthian columns of its façade, which

2576-636: The term "Kitchen Cabinet" to "a network of trusted advisers" who influence the decisions of corporate presidents and potentates. Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836. The bank's formal name, according to section 9 of its charter as passed by Congress,

2632-520: Was "The President, Directors, and Company, of the Bank of the United States". While other banks in the US were chartered by and only allowed to have branches in a single state, it was authorized to have branches in multiple states and lend money to the US government. A private corporation with public duties , the bank handled all fiscal transactions for the U.S. government, and was accountable to Congress and

2688-670: Was Andrew Jackson's friend and business partner since the 1790s. The first known appearance of the term is in correspondence by Bank of the United States head Nicholas Biddle , who wrote of the presidential advisors that "the kitchen ... predominate[s] over the Parlor." The first appearance in publication was by Mississippi Senator George Poindexter in an article in the Calhounite Telegraph of March 13, 1832, defending his vote against Van Buren as minister to Great Britain: The President's press, edited under his own eye, by

2744-553: Was Kendall's successor as editor of the Jacksonian Argus of Western America , the prominent pro- New Court newspaper of Kentucky . Jackson brought Blair to Washington, D.C. to counter Calhounite Duff Green , editor of The United States Telegraph , with a new paper, the Globe . Lewis had been quartermaster under Jackson during the War of 1812 ; Andrew Donelson was Jackson's adoptive son and private secretary; and Overton

2800-471: Was a factor in his removal as PM. Starting February 2012, Kitchen Cabinet is a TV entertainment series hosted by political commentator Annabel Crabb , in which she interviews notable Australian politicians while preparing and sharing meals with them. During the negotiations preceding the 1982 patriation of the Constitution of Canada , the crucial agreement to create the notwithstanding clause

2856-615: Was a widower, and since he had no wife to become involved in the Eaton controversy, he managed to avoid becoming entangled himself. In 1831 he resigned his cabinet post, as did Secretary of War John Eaton , in order to give Jackson a reason to re-order his cabinet and dismiss Calhoun allies. Jackson then dismissed Calhounites Samuel D. Ingham , John Branch , and John M. Berrien . Van Buren, whom Jackson had already indicated he wanted to run for vice president in 1832, remained in Washington as

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2912-418: Was answerable for its performance to the U.S. Treasury and Congress and subject to Treasury Department inspection. As exclusive fiscal agent for the federal government, it provided a number of services as part of its charter, including holding and transfer of all U.S. deposits, payment and receipt of all government transactions, and processing of tax payments. In other words, the bank was "the depository of

2968-698: Was converted into the United States Assay Office before it was demolished in 1915. The federal-style façade was saved and installed in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1924. The Second Bank building was described by Charles Dickens in a chapter of his 1842 travelogue American Notes for General Circulation , Philadelphia, and its solitary prison: We reached the city, late that night. Looking out of my chamber-window, before going to bed, I saw, on

3024-405: Was in general disrepute among most Americans when Nicholas Biddle , the third and last president of the bank, was appointed by President James Monroe in 1823. Under Biddle's guidance, the bank evolved into a powerful institution that produced a strong and sound system of national credit and currency. From 1823 to 1833, Biddle expanded credit steadily, but with restraint, in a manner that served

3080-401: Was introduced to British politics to describe British Prime Minister Harold Wilson 's inner circle during his terms of office (1964-1970 and 1974–1976); prior to Tony Blair , Wilson was the longest-serving Labour Party Prime Minister. Members included Marcia Williams , George Wigg , Joe Haines , and Bernard Donoughue . The term has been used subsequently, especially under Tony Blair, for

3136-660: Was reached during a meeting between one federal and two provincial justice ministers in the actual kitchen of the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa . That agreement became known as the Kitchen Accord and its authors, Jean Chrétien from the federal government, Roy Romanow from Saskatchewan , and Roy McMurtry from Ontario , became known as the Kitchen Cabinet. In India , the quasi-governmental body formerly headed by Sonia Gandhi , called

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