Chartering of the Bank of North America
- When
- 1781–1782
- Where
- Congressional proceedings; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Episodes
- 3
The Congress of the Confederation chartered the Bank of North America on May 26, 1781, based on a plan by Robert Morris. It opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 1782, becoming the first chartered bank in the United States.
Episodes
- Plan Presentation
Robert Morris presented the bank plan to Congress.
- Congressional Charter
Congress chartered the Bank of North America.
- Philadelphia Opening
The bank opened in Philadelphia.
Background and detail
Background. Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finance, presented a plan for a national bank to Congress on May 17, 1781. This initiative included recommendations from Alexander Hamilton, who had previously recommended Morris for the finance role.
Chartering. On May 26, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation officially chartered the Bank of North America. Morris persuaded Congress to adopt the charter, establishing it as the first private commercial bank in the United States.
Opening. The bank opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1782. This marked the beginning of its operations as a chartered financial institution.
People involved
- Robert Morris · Superintendent of Finance
- Alexander Hamilton · Advisor
Sources
- Bank of North America Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-28
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.