Charter of the Second Bank of the United States

Background. The political climate known as the Era of Good Feelings favored national programs, including the revival of a Bank of the United States. Modeled on Alexander Hamilton's First Bank, the Second Bank was chartered in 1816 by President James Madison, who had previously attacked the First Bank as unconstitutional. Private banks had previously scuttled the rechartering of the First Bank in 1811.

Charter Details. The charter was signed into law by James Madison on April 10, 1816. The bank's formal name, according to section 9 of its charter, was "The President, Directors, and Company, of the Bank of the United States." Its primary regulatory task was to restrain the proliferation of paper money by state or private lenders.

Opposition. Old Republicans, represented by John Taylor of Caroline and John Randolph of Roanoke, characterized the Second Bank as constitutionally illegitimate and a threat to Jeffersonian agrarianism, state sovereignty, and slavery. Taylor argued that if Congress could incorporate a bank, it might emancipate a slave.