Langdon Cheveswho replaced Jones as president, worsened the situation by reducing the Bank's liabilities by more than half, lessening the value of Bank notes, and more than tripling the Bank's specie held in reserve.
As the charter for the Second Bank of the United States was patterned after the first, it faced the same strenuous scrutiny and a long and difficult fight. Jackson, though nineteen years his senior, had the satisfaction of outliving him by a year.
In the words of historian Bray Hammond"This was a very large 'if,' and the secretary came to realize it. Biddle was a true American aristocrat.
Monroe hoped that the disappearance of the Federalist Party would mark the end of party politics. From one point of view, the Bank was providing the country with a stable and uniform currency and centrally, sensibly controlling the pace of growth.
As collection agent for the Treasury, the Bank accumulated millions in these notes, and it could either hold on to them, thereby encouraging credit expansion, or promptly present them for redemption, driving weaker institutions out of business and starting a contraction and panic.
Crawfordand Clay. This article explains the political maneuvering that surrounded the rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States, with a focus on the hostile relationships of men like Jackson, Clay, Calhoun, Biddle, and Van Buren.