Im confused what is the National Bank?Im currently in AP US History and im studying the 1780s to 1810s(somthing like that) and this guy named Alexander Hamilton wants a national bank. My questions are: What Is the National Bank? What does the National Bank do? How is it beneficial? And why is it publicly owned??! Any other breif details would be... | |
During the Revolutionary War, Hamilton served as an artillery captain, was an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, and led three battalions at the Battle of Yorktown. Under President Washington, Hamilton became the first Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary of the Treasury and confidant of Washington, Hamilton had wide-reaching influence over the direction of policy during the formative years of the government. Hamilton believed in the importance of a strong central government, and convinced Congress to use an elastic interpretation of the Constitution to pass far-reaching laws. They included: the funding of the national debt; federal assumption of the state debts; creation of a national bank; and a system of taxes through a tariff on imports and a tax on whiskey that would help pay for it. He admired the success of the British system--particularly its strong financial and trade networks--and opposed what he saw as the excesses of the French Revolution.
We call the national Bank the Federal Reserve Bank today. It coordinates the transfer of checks between banks (you deposit your paycheck in YOUR bank and it gets drawn on your EMPLOYERS bank). It sets interest rates for short term borrowing.
It is owned by the government as a federal institution like the treasury.
