Short Essay Question:

Directions: Answer the questions that follow the document. You do not need to write an introduction or a conclusion. Your response should be one paragraph (4-6 sentences).

This letter was written in response to a request from President Washington as to how he should address the debate over the Constitutionality of the National Bank

….The bank does have constitutional basis when closely examining the commerce powers as outlined in the Constitution...the bank as it proposed will be the receiver of all taxes collected...accordingly it is affirmed that the bank has a relation, more or less direct, to the power of collecting taxes; to that of borrowing and lending money; to that of regulating trade between the states, all of which are outlined as powers of Congress in article one of the US Constitution.

And in the last place, it will be argued, that it is clearly within the provision which authorizes the making of all needed rules and regulations concerning the property of the United States…. The only question must be in this, as in every other case, whether the mean to be employed or in this instance, the corporation to be erected, has a natural relation to any of the acknowledged objects or lawful ends of the government. Thus a corporation may not be erected by Congress for superintending the police of the city of Philadelphia, because they are not authorized to regulate the police of that city. But one may be erected in relation to the collection of taxes, or to the trade with foreign countries, or to the trade between the States, or with the Indian tribes; because it is the province of the federal government to regulate those objects, and because it is incident to a general sovereign or legislative power to regulate a thing, to employ all the means which relate to its regulation to the best and greatest advantage. . . .

Source: Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, to President Washington, 1791

Describe the historical context surrounding the document then explain how the purpose of the document affects the reliability of the document.

After Alexander Hamilton became Secretary of the Treasury in 1790, he promoted the expansion of the federal government through a variety of controversial bills. Hamilton argued that a federal bank would be beneficial to the national economy. The opening paragraph of the bill sums up his arguments:

Whereas it is conceived that the establishment of a bank for the United States, upon a foundation sufficiently extensive to answer the purposes intended thereby, and at the same time upon the principles which afford adequate security for an upright and prudent administration thereof, will be very conducive to the successful conducting of the national finance; will tend to give facility to the obtaining of loans, for the use of the government, in sudden emergencies; and will be productive of considerable advantages to trade and industry in general:

President Washington signed the bill into law in February 1791. The Bank of the United States, now commonly referred to as the first Bank of the United States, opened for business in Philadelphia on December 12, 1791, with a twenty-year charter.

Explanation:

The Bank would be able to lend the government money and safely hold its deposits, give Americans a uniform currency, and promote business and industry by extending credit. Together with Hamilton's other financial programs, it would help place the United States on an equal financial footing with the nations of Europe.