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69-779: At the end of the Second Bank of the United States in 1836, the control of banking regimes devolved mostly to the states. Different states adopted policies including a total ban on banking (as in Wisconsin), a single state-chartered bank (as in Indiana and Illinois), limited chartering of banks (as in Ohio), and free entry (as in New York). While the relative success of New York's "free banking" laws led several states also to adopt

138-608: A joint resolution of Congress . During Little, Brown and Company's time as publisher, Richard Peters (Volumes 1–8), George Minot (Volumes 9–11), and George P. Sanger (Volumes 11–17) served as editors. In 1874, Congress transferred the authority to publish the Statutes at Large to the Government Printing Office under the direction of the Secretary of State. Pub. L.   80–278 , 61 Stat. 633,

207-496: 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 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

276-598: A charter. By the 1860s, over half of states had such a law on the books. However, the National Banking Act of 1864 (ch. 106, 13  Stat.   99 ; June 3, 1864) brought a close to the issue by establishing federally-issued bank charters, which took banking out of the hands of state governments. The first bank to receive a national charter was the First National Bank of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Charter #1). The first new national bank to open

345-705: 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

414-675: 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

483-454: A free-entry banking regime, the system remained poorly integrated across state lines. Though all banknotes were uniformly denominated in dollars, notes would often circulate at a steep discount in states beyond their issue. In the end, well-publicized frauds arose in states like Michigan, which had adopted free entry regimes but did not require the redeemability of bank issues for specie. The perception of dangerous " wildcat banking ”, along with

552-574: A gloom on Philadelphia, under the depressing effect of which it yet laboured. It certainly did seem rather dull and out of spirits. United States Statutes at Large The United States Statutes at Large , commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large and abbreviated Stat. , are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress . Each act and resolution of Congress

621-483: 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 a protective tariff , internal improvements and the revival of a Bank of the United States . Southern and western support for

690-499: 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

759-576: 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,

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828-476: 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 the Napoleonic Wars . It was charged with restraining uninhibited private bank note issue—already in progress —that threatened to create a credit bubble and

897-460: 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 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

966-402: 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

1035-624: 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

1104-471: 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 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

1173-693: A three-part process, consisting of slip laws, session laws ( Statutes at Large ), and codification ( United States Code ). Large portions of public laws are enacted as amendments to the United States Code . Once enacted into law, an Act will be published in the Statutes at Large and will add to, modify, or delete some part of the United States Code. Provisions of a public law that contain only enacting clauses, effective dates, and similar matters are not generally codified . Private laws also are not generally codified. Some portions of

1242-411: 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

1311-400: 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

1380-555: Is originally published as a slip law , which is classified as either public law (abbreviated Pub.L.) or private law (Pvt.L.), and designated and numbered accordingly. At the end of a congressional session, the statutes enacted during that session are compiled into bound books, known as "session law" publications. The United States Statutes at Large is the name of the session law publication for U.S. Federal statutes. The public laws and private laws are numbered and organized in chronological order. U.S. Federal statutes are published in

1449-557: 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

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1518-547: 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

1587-590: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999). In 2004, the Act was used by John D. Hawke, Jr. , Comptroller of the Currency , to effectively bar state attorneys general from national bank oversight and regulatory roles. Many blame the resulting lack of oversight and regulation for the late-2000s recession , the bailout of the U.S. financial system and the subprime mortgage crisis . Second Bank of

1656-597: The Mexican–American War . However, the revenue generated this way was limited without a national currency. This became more urgent during the Civil War, when Congress and Lincoln were struggling to finance the war efforts. Without a national mechanism for issuing currency, the Lincoln administration could not exploit the powers and loopholes that, for example, Britain could with its central bank, in order to finance

1725-636: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Until 1948, all treaties and international agreements approved by the United States Senate were also published in the set, but these now appear in a publication titled United States Treaties and Other International Agreements , abbreviated U.S.T. In addition, the Statutes at Large includes the text of the Declaration of Independence , Articles of Confederation ,

1794-853: The 1870s, when the growing popularity of checks and the declining profitability of national bank currency issues caused a resurgence. The granting of charters led to the creation of many national banks and a national banking system which grew at a fast pace. The number of national banks rose from 66 immediately after the Act to 7,473 in 1913. Initially, this rise in national banking came at the expense of state banking—the number of state banks dwindled from 1,466 in 1863 to 247 in 1868. Though state banks were no longer allowed to issue notes, local bankers took advantage of less strict capital requirements ($ 10,000 for state banks vs. $ 50,000–200,000 for national banks) and opened new branches en masse. These new state banks then served as competition for national banks, growing to 15,526 in number by 1913. The years leading up to

1863-679: The National Currency Act, was passed in the Senate by a 23–21 vote, and was supplemented a year later by the National Banking Act of 1864. The goals of these acts was to create a single national currency, a nationalized bank chartering system, and to raise money for the Union war effort. The Act established national banks that could issue National Bank Notes which were backed by the United States Treasury and printed by

1932-420: 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

2001-456: 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 the U.S. Treasury . Twenty percent of its capital was owned by the federal government,

2070-631: 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, was "The President, Directors, and Company, of the Bank of the United States". While other banks in

2139-534: The United States Code have been enacted as positive law and other portions have not been so enacted. In case of a conflict between the text of the Statutes at Large and the text of a provision of the United States Code that has not been enacted as positive law, the text of the Statutes at Large takes precedence. Publication of the United States Statutes at Large began in 1845 by the private firm of Little, Brown and Company under authority of

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2208-422: The act, state legislatures typically issued bank charters on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration whether the area needed a new bank, and if the applicant was of good moral standing. As this system could be subject to corruption, states began passing "free banking" laws in 1837, which meant that any applicant who filled out the correct paperwork and deposited an in-kind payment to the state would be granted

2277-458: 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

2346-495: 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

2415-459: 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

2484-477: 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 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

2553-420: 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 the bank was to regulate the public credit issued by private banking institutions through

2622-467: The banking system included hiring a new staff, being hands-on with several aspects such as "personally evaluating applications for bank charters and consoled prospective bankers", and "assisting in the design of the new national bank notes, and arranged for their engraving, printing, and distribution." As an result of McCulloch's efforts, many banks were just not willing to conform to his system of operations. This prompted Congress to pass "a 10 percent tax on

2691-546: The bills was about as good as the green ink printed on one side, hence the name "greenbacks." The Second Legal Tender Act , enacted July 11, 1862, a Joint Resolution of Congress, and the Third Legal Tender Act , enacted March 3, 1863, expanded the limit to $ 450 million. The largest amount of greenbacks outstanding at any one time was calculated as $ 447,300,203.10. The National Bank Act (ch. 58, 12  Stat.   665 ; February 25, 1863), originally known as

2760-520: 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)

2829-475: The creation of national banks, set out a plan for establishing a national currency backed by government securities held by other banks, and gave the federal government the ability to sell war bonds and securities (in order to help the war effort ). National banks were chartered by the federal government, and were subject to stricter regulation; they had higher capital requirements and were not allowed to loan more than 10% of their holdings. A high tax on state banks

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2898-525: 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,

2967-532: 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 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

3036-573: The government itself. The quantity of notes that a bank was allowed to issue was proportional to the bank's level of capital deposited with the Comptroller of the Currency at the Treasury. To further control the currency, the Act taxed notes issued by state and local banks, essentially pushing non-federally issued paper currency out of circulation. Since the establishment of the Republic, state governments had held authority to regulate banks. Before

3105-465: The high expenses involved. Previously, the damage that would be done to state banks by national competition was sufficient to prevent significant national bank chartering. But using the war crisis, Lincoln was able to expand this effort. One of the first attempts to issue a national currency came in the early days of the Civil War when Congress approved the Legal Tender Act of 1862 , allowing

3174-418: 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

3243-436: The issue of $ 150 million in national notes known as greenbacks and mandating that paper money be issued and accepted in lieu of gold and silver coins. The bills were backed only by the national government's promise to redeem them and their value was dependent on public confidence in the government as well as the ability of the government to give out specie in exchange for the bills in the future. Many thought this promise backing

3312-412: 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

3381-429: 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

3450-656: 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

3519-415: 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),

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3588-444: The national system, increasing the number of national banks substantially. The National Banking Acts served to create the (federal-state) dual structure that is now a defining characteristic of the U.S. banking system and economy. The Comptroller of the Currency continues to have significance in the U.S. economy and is responsible for administration and supervision of national banks as well as certain activities of bank subsidiaries (per

3657-517: 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

3726-439: The notes of state banks, signaling its determination that national banks would triumph and the state banks would fade away." A later act, passed on March 3, 1865, imposed a tax of 10 percent on the notes of state banks to take effect on July 1, 1866. Similar to previous taxes, this effectively forced all non-federal currency from circulation. It also resulted in the creation of demand deposit accounts , and encouraged banks to join

3795-401: 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

3864-455: 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

3933-515: 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 the aftermath of the War of 1812 , the federal government suffered from the disarray of an unregulated currency and

4002-431: The passing of the 10% tax on banknotes consisted of events surrounding the National Banking Act of 1864. During this time period, Hugh McCulloch was determined to "fight against the national banking legislation, which he rightly perceived as a threat to state-chartered banking. Although he tried to block the system's creation, he [McCulloch] was not determined to be its champion." Part of his plans to revamp this portion of

4071-502: The poor integration of the U.S. banking system, led to increasing public support for a uniform national banking regime. The United States Government, on the other hand, still had limited taxation capabilities and so had an interest in the seigniorage potential of a national bank. In 1846, the Polk Administration created a United States Treasury system that moved public funds from private banks to Treasury branches to fund

4140-405: 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

4209-453: 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 the management of its first president William Jones ,

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4278-462: 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

4347-550: Was The First National Bank of Davenport, Iowa (Charter #15). Additionally, the new Act converted more than 1,500 state banks to national banks. The National Bank Act of 1863 was passed on February 25, 1863, and was the first attempt to establish a federal banking system after the failures of the First and Second Banks of the United States, and served as the predecessor to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The act allowed

4416-418: 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

4485-698: 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

4554-610: Was enacted July 30, 1947 and directed the Secretary of State to compile, edit, index, and publish the Statutes at Large . Pub. L.   81–821 , 64 Stat. 980, was enacted September 23, 1950 and directed the Administrator of General Services to compile, edit, index, and publish the Statutes at Large . Since 1985 the Statutes at Large have been prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of

4623-405: 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

4692-556: Was intentionally set so high as to effectively prohibit further circulation of state bank and private notes. By this time the conversion from state banks to national banks was well underway. The constitutionality of the tax came before the Supreme Court in Veazie Bank v. Fenno , a case by a state-chartered Maine bank and the collector of internal revenue. The Court ruled 7–2 in favor of the government. State banks declined until

4761-484: Was levied to discourage competition, and by 1865 most state banks had either received national charters or collapsed. The 1864 act, based on a New York State law, brought the federal government into active supervision of commercial banks. Further acts passed in 1865 and 1866 imposed a tax to speed the adoption of the system. All banks (national or otherwise) had to pay a 10 percent tax on payments that they made in currency notes other than national bank notes. The tax rate

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