The+Bank+War

Hard Money: money backed by a piece of gold Soft Money: money which is not backed by anything (our current system). (Biddle never actually does this, starts lending again, Jackson wins)
 * Exceptionally safe
 * Money is always valuable
 * However, you can only loan as many pieces of paper as you have hunks of gold (supply is limited)
 * With growing population, this can become a problem. Demand for money increases.
 * One could make as much money as he wants.
 * Economy can grow quickly
 * However, it's not backed by anything
 * Inflation is possible (creation of too much money)
 * Collapse (people realize it is not worth anything, so they destroy it)
 * The Second National bank is the largest institution in the country at the moment.
 * They are important because they help people start businesses
 * Jackson supports hard money
 * It is easier for large companies to expand with soft money
 * Jackson doesn't like the bank- believes they should NOT be the most powerful thing
 * Believe the growth could come from individuals, and believes that the large companies nor the national government should be too powerful to expand for themselves at the cost of the "little people"
 * All currencies will be valuable and rock solid.
 * Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Bittle support soft money
 * Clay: supports
 * Proposes bill to re-charter bank 4 years early, knows Jackson hates the bank yet lots of people like it, wants to make it the issue of 1832 election.
 * Passes congress, but Jackson vetoes the bill, it became the issue of the 1832 election, but Jackson still wins.
 * Webster: bank loans Webster lots of money
 * Bittle: president of bank, wants bank to continue (loans Webster money in favor for political support.
 * Calhoun: believes the bank supports industrial interests in the Northeast
 * Want bank to drive the economy
 * North has an industrial base, the people in the Northeast don't want the bank to fund the growing economic powers (south), North doesn’t want competition.
 * Jackson is on a “jihad” against the bank, supported by what seems like a mandate from the electorate.
 * Orders US funds withdrawn
 * SecTres refuses because that might implode the economy
 * Jackson fires him, appoints a new guy who won’t do it either.
 * Roger Taney is appointed.
 * Taney deposits funds into state banks before he starts withdrawing from the National Bank.
 * Ultimately does what Jackson wants, at first he tries to lessen impact to economy
 * Jackson trying to starve the bank
 * Biddle- ANGRY! ..President of the Bank.. Duh
 * Is going to call back loans, businesses will begin to fail. Domino affect.
 * Raise interest rates, more expensive for people to borrow new money
 * Tries to create a tiny recession so that people get pissed at Jackson
 * Bank is not re-chartered, by 1836 bank dies.
 * Because we have no national bank, there is the panic of 1837 as well as a 100 year time period of spotty-economic growth.