"Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies." Thomas JeffersonSource: stated in 1811 when President Jefferson refused to renew the charter for the First Bank of the United States (the 2nd central bank chartered by Congress in 1791).
The beautiful building shown above is The Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia on Chestnut Street between 4th & 5th. It was founded after the War of 1812 when it was realized that without a national bank (the charter on the first bank was allowed to lapse) it would be impossible to fund another war such as the one just fought. Founded in 1816, the building was finished in 1818. William Strickland, one of the first great American architects designed the building, and Nicholas Biddle was the first president of the bank. After a long battle, Andrew Jackson disbanded the bank in 1832 during his crusade against the national banking system.
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