[size="4"][color="#008080"]Part VIII[/color][/size][size="4"][color="#008080"][size="2"] (of XVIII)[/size] :[/color][/size][size="4"][color="#008080"] Andrew Jackson and the central bank[/color][/size]
After 12 years of manipulation of the U.S. economy by the Second Bank of The U.S., the American people had had just about enough. Opponents of the bank nominated a dignified senator from Tennessee, Andrew Jackson to run for president.
The bank had long ago learned how the political process could be controlled with money, but to the surprise and dismay of the Money Changers, Jackson was swept into office in 1828.
[color="#008080"][size="3"]# Jackson's War[/size][/color]
Jackson was determined to kill the bank at the first opportunity. But the bank's 20 years charter didn't come up for renewal until 1836, the last years of his second term, if he could survive that long.
During his first term, Jackson contented himself with the rooting out the banks many minions from government service. He fired 2000 of the 11.000 employees of the federal government.
In 1832, with his re-election approaching, the bank struck an early blow, hoping Jackson would not want to stir up controversy. They asked congress to pass a renewal bill four years early. The congress complied, than send it to the president for signing.
But Jackson vetoed the renewal bill. His veto message is one of the great American documents. It clearly lays out the responsibility of the American government toward its citizens rich and poor.
[indent]"It is not our own citizens only who are to receive the bounty of our Government.
More than eight millions of the stock of this bank are held by foreigners ....
[color="#ff0000"] Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country?...
Controlling our currency, receiving our public moneys, and holding thousands of our citizens in dependence.... would be more formidable and dangerous than a military power of the enemy. [/color]
If [government] would confine itself to equal protection, and as Heaven does its rains, shower its favour alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing.
In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles"
[/indent]Congress was unable to override Jackson's veto. Now Jackson had to stand for re-election. Jackson took his argument directly to the people. For the first time in the U.S. history Jackson took his campaign on the road. His campaign slogan was "Jackson and no bank." The National Republican Party ran senator Henry Clay against Jackson. Despite the fact that the bankers put over $3 million into Clays campaign, Jackson was re-elected by a landslide in November of 1832.
Jackson ordered his new secretary of the treasury, Lewis McLane, to start removing the governments deposits from The Second Bank and start placing them in state banks.
But McLane refused to do so. Jackson fired him and appointed William James Duane as the new secretary of the treasury. Duane also refused to comply with the presidents request and so Jackson fired him as well and then appointed Robert B. Taney to the office. Taney did withdraw Governments funds from the banks, starting on October 1st 1833.
[color="#008080"][size="3"]# The Bank strikes back[/size][/color]
But the bank was not yet done fighting. Its head, Nicholas Biddle, used his influence to get the senate to reject Taney nomination. Then in a rare show of arrogance, [color="#ff0000"]Biddle threatened to cause a depression if the bank was not re-chartered[/color]. In an unbelievable fit of honesty for a banker, Biddle admitted that the bank was going to make money scarce to force congress to restore the bank.[indent]"This worthy President thinks that because he has scalped Indians and imprisoned Judges, he is to have his way with the Bank. He is mistaken ... Nothing but widespread suffering will produce an effect on Congress.... Our only safety is in pursuing a steady course of firm restriction - and I have no doubt that such a course will ultimately lead to restoration of the currency and the re-charter of the bank."
[/indent]
What a stunning revelation!!<img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' />
Here was the pure truth, revealed with shocking clarity.
Biddle intended to use the money contraction power of the bank to cause a massive depression until America gave in.
[color="#ff00ff"]{ Note: {Timeline: Present} [/color][color="#ff00ff"]Senator James Inhofe had revealed that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, had threatened martial law and a new great depression if the $700 billion bailout bill was not passed. It was eventually passed by the senate in[/color][color="#ff00ff"] Oct 3, 2008 }[/color]
Unfortunately, this has happened time and time again throughout U.S. history and is about to happen again in today's world.
Nicholas Biddle made good on his threat.
The bank sharply contracted the money supply by calling in all loans and refusing to extend new ones. A financial panic ensued, followed by a deep depression.
Naturally Biddle blamed Jackson for the crash, saying it was caused by the withdrawal of federal funds from the bank. Unfortunately, his plan worked well. Wages and prices sacked, unemployment soared along with business bankruptcies. The nation quickly went into an uproar. Newspapers editors blasted Jackson in editorials. The bank threatened to withhold payments which then could be made directly to key politicians to support.
Within only months, congress assembled at what was called the panic session. Six months after he had withdrawn funds from the bank Jackson was officially censured by a resolution which passed the senate by a vote of 26 to 20. If congress could muster enough votes to override Jackson's veto, the bank would be granted another 20 years monopoly or more over America's money. Time enough to consolidate its already great power.
[size="3"][color="#008080"]# 'I killed the bank'[/color][/size]
The governor of Pennsylvania came out supporting president Jackson and strongly criticised the bank. On top of that, Biddle had been caught boasting in public about the banks plan to crash the American economy.
Suddenly the tide shifted.
In April of 1834 the House of Representatives voted 134-82 against rechartering the bank. This was followed up by an even more lopsided vote to establish a special committee to investigate what if the bank had caused the crash.
When the investigating committee arrived at bank store in Philadelphia, armed with a subpoena to examine the books, Biddle refused to give them up. Nor would he allow inspection of correspondence with congressman relating to their personal loans and advances he made to them. He also refused to testify before the committee back in Washington.
On January the 30th 1835, an assassin by the name of Richard Lawrence tried to shoot president Jackson. But by the grace of God both pistols misfired. Lawrence was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. After his release he bragged to friends that powerful people in Europe had put him up to the task and promised to protect him if he were caught.
The following year when its charter ran out The Second Bank of The United States ceased functioning as the nations central bank. Biddle was later arrested and charged with fraud. He was put on trial and acquitted, but died shortly thereafter, while still tied up in civil suits.
After his second turn as president, Jackson retired. He is still remembered for his determination to kill the bank. In fact he killed it so well that it took The Money Changers 77 years to undo the damage. When asked what his most important accomplishment had been, Jackson replied: "I killed the bank!"
Stay tuned...
After 12 years of manipulation of the U.S. economy by the Second Bank of The U.S., the American people had had just about enough. Opponents of the bank nominated a dignified senator from Tennessee, Andrew Jackson to run for president.
The bank had long ago learned how the political process could be controlled with money, but to the surprise and dismay of the Money Changers, Jackson was swept into office in 1828.
[color="#008080"][size="3"]# Jackson's War[/size][/color]
Jackson was determined to kill the bank at the first opportunity. But the bank's 20 years charter didn't come up for renewal until 1836, the last years of his second term, if he could survive that long.
During his first term, Jackson contented himself with the rooting out the banks many minions from government service. He fired 2000 of the 11.000 employees of the federal government.
In 1832, with his re-election approaching, the bank struck an early blow, hoping Jackson would not want to stir up controversy. They asked congress to pass a renewal bill four years early. The congress complied, than send it to the president for signing.
But Jackson vetoed the renewal bill. His veto message is one of the great American documents. It clearly lays out the responsibility of the American government toward its citizens rich and poor.
[indent]"It is not our own citizens only who are to receive the bounty of our Government.
More than eight millions of the stock of this bank are held by foreigners ....
[color="#ff0000"] Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country?...
Controlling our currency, receiving our public moneys, and holding thousands of our citizens in dependence.... would be more formidable and dangerous than a military power of the enemy. [/color]
If [government] would confine itself to equal protection, and as Heaven does its rains, shower its favour alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing.
In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles"
[/indent]Congress was unable to override Jackson's veto. Now Jackson had to stand for re-election. Jackson took his argument directly to the people. For the first time in the U.S. history Jackson took his campaign on the road. His campaign slogan was "Jackson and no bank." The National Republican Party ran senator Henry Clay against Jackson. Despite the fact that the bankers put over $3 million into Clays campaign, Jackson was re-elected by a landslide in November of 1832.
Jackson ordered his new secretary of the treasury, Lewis McLane, to start removing the governments deposits from The Second Bank and start placing them in state banks.
But McLane refused to do so. Jackson fired him and appointed William James Duane as the new secretary of the treasury. Duane also refused to comply with the presidents request and so Jackson fired him as well and then appointed Robert B. Taney to the office. Taney did withdraw Governments funds from the banks, starting on October 1st 1833.
[color="#008080"][size="3"]# The Bank strikes back[/size][/color]
But the bank was not yet done fighting. Its head, Nicholas Biddle, used his influence to get the senate to reject Taney nomination. Then in a rare show of arrogance, [color="#ff0000"]Biddle threatened to cause a depression if the bank was not re-chartered[/color]. In an unbelievable fit of honesty for a banker, Biddle admitted that the bank was going to make money scarce to force congress to restore the bank.[indent]"This worthy President thinks that because he has scalped Indians and imprisoned Judges, he is to have his way with the Bank. He is mistaken ... Nothing but widespread suffering will produce an effect on Congress.... Our only safety is in pursuing a steady course of firm restriction - and I have no doubt that such a course will ultimately lead to restoration of the currency and the re-charter of the bank."
[/indent]
What a stunning revelation!!<img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' />
Here was the pure truth, revealed with shocking clarity.
Biddle intended to use the money contraction power of the bank to cause a massive depression until America gave in.
[color="#ff00ff"]{ Note: {Timeline: Present} [/color][color="#ff00ff"]Senator James Inhofe had revealed that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, had threatened martial law and a new great depression if the $700 billion bailout bill was not passed. It was eventually passed by the senate in[/color][color="#ff00ff"] Oct 3, 2008 }[/color]
Unfortunately, this has happened time and time again throughout U.S. history and is about to happen again in today's world.
Nicholas Biddle made good on his threat.
The bank sharply contracted the money supply by calling in all loans and refusing to extend new ones. A financial panic ensued, followed by a deep depression.
Naturally Biddle blamed Jackson for the crash, saying it was caused by the withdrawal of federal funds from the bank. Unfortunately, his plan worked well. Wages and prices sacked, unemployment soared along with business bankruptcies. The nation quickly went into an uproar. Newspapers editors blasted Jackson in editorials. The bank threatened to withhold payments which then could be made directly to key politicians to support.
Within only months, congress assembled at what was called the panic session. Six months after he had withdrawn funds from the bank Jackson was officially censured by a resolution which passed the senate by a vote of 26 to 20. If congress could muster enough votes to override Jackson's veto, the bank would be granted another 20 years monopoly or more over America's money. Time enough to consolidate its already great power.
[size="3"][color="#008080"]# 'I killed the bank'[/color][/size]
The governor of Pennsylvania came out supporting president Jackson and strongly criticised the bank. On top of that, Biddle had been caught boasting in public about the banks plan to crash the American economy.
Suddenly the tide shifted.
In April of 1834 the House of Representatives voted 134-82 against rechartering the bank. This was followed up by an even more lopsided vote to establish a special committee to investigate what if the bank had caused the crash.
When the investigating committee arrived at bank store in Philadelphia, armed with a subpoena to examine the books, Biddle refused to give them up. Nor would he allow inspection of correspondence with congressman relating to their personal loans and advances he made to them. He also refused to testify before the committee back in Washington.
On January the 30th 1835, an assassin by the name of Richard Lawrence tried to shoot president Jackson. But by the grace of God both pistols misfired. Lawrence was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. After his release he bragged to friends that powerful people in Europe had put him up to the task and promised to protect him if he were caught.
The following year when its charter ran out The Second Bank of The United States ceased functioning as the nations central bank. Biddle was later arrested and charged with fraud. He was put on trial and acquitted, but died shortly thereafter, while still tied up in civil suits.
After his second turn as president, Jackson retired. He is still remembered for his determination to kill the bank. In fact he killed it so well that it took The Money Changers 77 years to undo the damage. When asked what his most important accomplishment had been, Jackson replied: "I killed the bank!"
Stay tuned...
The love that you withhold is the pain that you carry, lifetime after lifetime -- Alex Collier