The
First Bank of the United States
was needed because the government had
a debt from the Revolutionary War, and
each state had a different form of currency.
It was built while Philadelphia was still
the nation's capital. Alexander Hamilton
conceived of the bank to handle the colossal
war debt — and to create a standard form
of currency. The First Bank of the United
States was a bank chartered by the United
States Congress on February 25, 1791.
The charter was for 20 years. The Bank
was created to handle the financial needs
and requirements of the central government
of the newly formed United States, which
had previously been thirteen individual
colonies with their own banks, currencies,
and financial institutions and policies.
Up
to the time of the bank's charter, coins
and bills issued by state banks served
as the currency of the young country.
The First Bank's charter was drafted in
1791 by the Congress and signed by George
Washington. In 1811, Congress voted to
abandon the bank and its charter. The
bank was originally housed in Carpenters'
Hall from 1791 to 1795. The neo-classical
design of the bank was intended to recall
the democracy and splendor of ancient
Greece. When you're there, note the eagle
which crowns the two-story portico. At
the time of the bank's creation the eagle
had been our national symbol for only
14 years. The bank building was restored
for the Bicentennial in 1976.
 
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