Download AMERICAN HISTORY POLITICAL CARTOONS Jackson and the Bank

Menu
Print
Name __________________________ Class _______________ Date ________________
CARTOON
A M E R I C A N H I STO RY P O L I T I C A L C A RTO O N S
Stock Montage, Inc.
Jackson and the Bank
UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL CARTOONS
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this work.
Study the political cartoon, and then answer the questions that follow.
1. What do the falling pillars represent?
2. Which figure represents the president of the Second Bank of the United States?
3. What is President Jackson holding up?
ACTIVITY
Write a eulogy (a funeral speech) for the “death” of the Second Bank of the United States.
Explain in your eulogy the events leading up to the end of the Bank. In addition, give your
opinion on whether or not getting rid of the Bank was a good idea.
American History Political Cartoons
11
Menu
Print
Car toon 6: Discussion and Answers
Discussion Guide
The federal government created the First Bank of the United States in 1791 to hold its
money. The bank had been a source of controversy ever since it was first proposed. Those
who opposed the bank argued that the bank was unconstitutional, since the Constitution
did not specifically give the federal government the right to create a bank. Others argued
that the bank hurt American farmers by favoring an economy based on trade and manufacturing instead of farming. In 1811 Congress allowed the charter of the First Bank to
expire. In 1819 Congress established the Second Bank of the United States; its charter was
set to expire in 1836.
In 1829 President Andrew Jackson gave his first annual message to Congress.
He questioned the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States and made it
known that he intended to get rid of it. Three years later the president of the Second Bank
of the United States called on Congress to renew the bank’s charter, some four years before
it was set to expire. President Jackson vetoed the renewal bill.
Jackson believed that his opposition to the Bank had won him the election. He
began a campaign to destroy the bank. He first removed all federal funds from the Bank
and placed them in state banks. The Bank’s president responded by making it harder to
borrow money. He believed this would prove to Americans that the bank was indispensable. This major public debate became known as the Bank War. Jackson won the war by
refusing to return funds to the bank until its charter expired in 1836.
Answers
UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL CARTOONS
1. the Second National Bank
2. the man with the devil head
3. the order that removed funds from the Bank and put them in state banks
Activity
The eulogy should explain that Jackson destroyed the Bank by removing its funds and
putting them in state banks. He then refused to return the funds until the bank’s charter
expired. Students should give their opinion as to whether the bank was a good idea based
on arguments made by Jackson or Clay.
12
American History Political Cartoons
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this work.
Jackson’s veto of the renewal bill became one of the main issues of the 1832 presidential campaign. The election pitted Andrew Jackson against Henry Clay, a firm supporter
of the bank. During the election Jackson argued, like others before him, that the Second
Bank of the United States was unconstitutional and unfairly favored trade and manufacturing. He and many others viewed the Bank as a threat to democracy because they
believed it put too much power into the hands of wealthy factory owners and businessmen. Clay and his supporters argued that America’s continued economic growth depended on the Second National Bank. Jackson won the election by a large margin.