Autographs
Nicholas Biddle Signed 1838 Bank of the United States Bill of Exchange in the amount of 10,000 Pounds Sterling
NICHOLAS BIDDLE (1786-1844), American Financier who Served as the Third and Last President of the Second Bank of the United States, from 1823 until the Bank's collapse in 1841. Before assuming the Bank' Presidency, he had Served as Secretary to James Monroe when he was U.S. Minister to Great Britain. Edited the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was Andrew Jackson's Chief Opponent During the Bank War.
July 26, 1838-Dated, Bank of the United States, First Sight Bill of Exchange, Signed by Nicholas Biddle as President, and also signed by Joseph Cowperthwaite, the Bank's Cashier, Cancelled, Fine. Engraving of the Bank building at top. Payable in the amount of 10,000 Pounds Sterling to Prime, Ward & King, who endorsed it over to the London Banking firm of Baring Brothers & Co. Star Punch cancel at center, some ink erosion in the cross-hatch pen cancel at left, and in Biddle's signature, affecting the "N" and "B".
Nicholas Biddle (January 8, 1786 " February 27, 1844) was an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States (chartered 1816"1836).
Throughout his life Biddle worked as an editor, diplomat, author, and politician who served in both houses of the Pennsylvania state legislature. He is best known as the chief opponent of Andrew Jackson in the Bank War.
Born into the illustrious Biddle family of Philadelphia, young Nicholas worked for a number of prominent officials, including John Armstrong Jr. and James Monroe. In the Pennsylvania state legislature, he defended the utility of a national bank in the face of Jeffersonian criticisms.
From 1823 to 1836, Biddle served as president of the Second Bank, during which time he exercised power over the nation's money supply and interest rates, seeking to prevent economic crises.
With prodding from Henry Clay and the Bank's major stockholders, Biddle engineered a bill in Congress to renew the Bank's federal charter in 1832. The bill passed Congress and headed to President Andrew Jackson's desk. Jackson, who expressed deep hostility to most banks, vetoed the measure, ratcheting up tensions in a major political controversy known as the Bank War.
When Jackson transferred the federal government's deposits from the Second Bank to several state banks, Biddle raised interest rates, causing a mild economic recession. The federal charter expired in 1836, but the bank continued to operate with a Pennsylvania state charter until its ultimate collapse in 1841.