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House and Senate Journals
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Historical SummaryThe charter of the Bank of the United States did not expire until 1836, three years after the close of the term for which Jackson had been elected; it was probable, however, that the bank would make early application for a renewal of its privileges. Jackson undoubtedly sympathized with those who feared the political and economic power of a great financial monopoly; the controversy involving the branch bank at Portsmouth, N. H., however, was probably the occasion for beginning his attack on the bank, which he did in his first annual message, transmitted to Congress Dec. 8, 1829. In the House this portion of the message was referred to the Committee of Ways and Means, which made an elaborate report April 13, 1830, through McDuffie of South Carolina, sustaining the bank. May 10 resolutions offered by Potter of North Carolina, against paper money and the bank, and against the renewal of the charter, were, by a vote of 89 to 66, laid on the table. May 26 Wayne of Georgia submitted resolutions calling on the Secretary of the Treasury for a great variety of information about the conduct and business of the bank; on the 29th these were disagreed to. In the Senate the Committee on Finance, through Smith of Maryland, reported, March 29, against any change in the currency. REFERENCES. — Text of the message in House Journal, 27, 28. For the discussions, see Cong. Debates, VI. McDuffie’s report is printed as House Rep. 358; it is also in Cong. Debates, VI., part II., appendix, 104–133. Smith’s report is Senate Rep. 104. Documents connected with the Portsmouth branch controversy are collected in Niles’s Register, XXXVII., XXXVIII.; Ingham’s "Address," in his own defence, is in ib., XLII., 315, 316. The bank controversy as a whole is treated at length in all larger histories of the period, and in biographies of leading statesmen of the time. Niles’s Register, XXXVII.–XLV., gives invaluable documentary material. Benton’s Abridgment, X.–XII., gives full reports of debates; the same author’s Thirty Years’ View, I., is also of great value.
No. 81.
The Bank Controversy: Jackson’s First Annual Message
December 8, 1829
The charter of the Bank of the United States expires in 1836, and its stockholders will most probably apply for a renewal of their privileges. In order to avoid the evils resulting from precipitancy in a measure involving such important principles, and such deep pecuniary interests, I feel that I cannot, in justice to the parties interested, too soon present it to the deliberate consideration of the Legislature and the People. Both the constitutionality and the expediency of the law creating this Bank are well questioned by a large portion of our fellow-citizens; and it must be admitted by all, that it has failed in the great end of establishing a uniform and sound currency.
Under these circumstances, if such an institution is deemed essential to the fiscal operations of the Government, I submit to the wisdom of the Legislature whether a national one, founded upon the credit of the Government and its revenues, might not be devised, which would avoid all constitutional difficulties; and, at the same time, secure all the advantages to the Government and country that were expected to result from the present Bank.
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Chicago: "The Bank Controversy: Jackson’s First Annual Message," House and Senate Journals in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. William MacDonald (1863-1938) (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916), Original Sources, accessed May 1, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=EXIA2CKC2W6TQWV.
MLA: . "The Bank Controversy: Jackson’s First Annual Message." House and Senate Journals, in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, edited by William MacDonald (1863-1938), New York, The Macmillan Company, 1916, Original Sources. 1 May. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=EXIA2CKC2W6TQWV.
Harvard: , 'The Bank Controversy: Jackson’s First Annual Message' in House and Senate Journals. cited in 1916, Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York. Original Sources, retrieved 1 May 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=EXIA2CKC2W6TQWV.
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