First Bank of the United States

The President, Directors and Company, of the Bank of the United States, commonly known as the First Bank of the United States, was a national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress on February 25, 1791. It followed the Bank of North America, the nation's first de facto central bank.Establishment of the Bank of the United States was part of a three-part expansion of federal fiscal and monetary power, along with a federal mint and excise taxes, championed by Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton believed a national bank was necessary to stabilize and improve the nation's credit, and to improve handling of the financial business of the United States government under the newly enacted Constitution.The First Bank building, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, within Independence National Historical Park, was completed in 1797, and is a National Historic Landmark for its historic and architectural significance.BackgroundIn 1791, The First Bank of the United States was one of the four major financial innovations proposed and supported by Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury. In addition to the national bank, the other measures were assumption of the state war debts by the U.S. Government, establishment of a mint and imposition of a federal excise tax. The goals of Hamilton's three measures were to: Establish financial order, clarity and precedence in and of the newly formed United States.Establish credit—both in country and overseas—for the new nation.Resolve the issue of the fiat currency, issued by the Continental Congress immediately prior to and during the American Revolutionary War—the "Continental". In simpler words, Hamilton's four goals were to Have the Federal Government assume the Revolutionary War debts of the several statesPay off the war debtsRaise money for the new governmentEstablish a national bank and create a common currency