Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill re-chartering the Second Bank in July 1832 by arguing that in the form presented to him it was incompatible with “justice,” “sound policy” and the Constitution.
The bank’s charter was unfair, Jackson argued in his veto message, because it gave the bank considerable, almost monopolistic, market power, specifically in the markets that moved financial resources around the country and into and out of other nations. That market power increased the bank’s profits and thus its stock price, “which operated as a gratuity of many millions [of dollars] to the stockholders,” who, Jackson claimed, were mostly “foreigners” and “our own opulent citizens.” He then suggested that it would be fairer to most Americans to create a wholly government-owned bank instead, or at least to auction the Second Bank of the US’s monopoly privileges to the highest bidder.
The charter was bad policy for several technical reasons. First, it gave incorporated state banks better note redemption rights than those accorded to ordinary Americans and thereby created “a bond of union among the banking establishments of the nation, erecting them into an interest separate from that of the people.” Second, it exempted foreign stockholders from taxation but contained a clause that would allow states to tax resident stockholders. The effect of the differential taxation, Jackson believed, would drive most of the stock overseas and thus “make the American people debtors to aliens in nearly the whole amount due to this bank, and send across the Atlantic from two to five millions of specie every year to pay the bank dividends.” Because foreigners could not vote in corporate elections, the Bank would fall under the control of its few remaining citizen stockholders. “It is easy to conceive,” Jackson argued, “that great evils to our country and its institutions” would result “from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people.”
Finally, Jackson believed the Bank of the US was unconstitutional, noting that while there was precedent for a federally chartered bank there was also precedent for not renewing its charter, as in 1811. He then rejected the notion that the Supreme Court was the sole or final arbiter of constitutionality, arguing instead that “the Congress, the Executive and the Court must each for itself be guided by its own opinion of the Constitution.” He ended with a long litany of reasons why he could not reconcile his oath to uphold the Constitution with the bank’s re-charter bill.
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What was the Second Great Awakening?
The Second Great Awakening was prompted by falling interest in religion when people were excited about the innovations of the Industrial Revolution and the rapid expansion of U.S. territories, particularly in the west. People did not have the time or the inclination for worship. Exuberant revivalist meetings ignited the interest in religion. The camp-meetings featured zealous preachers who applied Christian teaching to the resolution of
the social problems of the day. The Second Great Awakening began in 1800 and was in decline by 1850.
Where and When did the Second Great Awakening begin?
The Second Great Awakening began in 1800 in New England, New York, Kentucky and Tennessee. Most of the religious revivals in the West occurred as camp meetings and also served as social gatherings with the opportunity to trade.
Why was the Second Great Awakening different to the First Great Awakening?
The Second Great Awakening
differed to the first as the focus of the revival meetings moved from traditional evangelism and conversion, to recruiting people into different denominations. The aim of reviving faith in the Christian religion was uppermost, hence the terms 'revival' and 'revivalists', but unlike the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening not only encompassed the Protestant religion but also encouraged the participation of Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists.
What was the Purpose of Second
Great Awakening?
The Second Great Awakening sought to awaken the consciences of people. It sought to change the beliefs and lifestyles of people by the adoption of virtues such as temperance, frugality and the ethic of hard work. It also sought to awaken people to the plight of the less fortunate in society, such as slaves, convicts and the handicapped, and work to make their lives better. Many of the preachers believed that the Gospel not only saved people, but also it was a means to reform
society. The enthusiastic preachers believed that every person could be saved through revivals.
Second Great Awakening in the North and the South
The Second Great Awakening spread across both the Northern and Southern states but there were differences in focus and in interpretation. In the North, the movement resulted in the creation of voluntary, reformist societies, which led directly to the anti-slavery abolitionist movement. In the South, white evangelicals began to preach that the
Bible supported slavery, a notion that was in the interests of the Slave Plantations. Also refer to the Fugitive Slave Act.
Second Great Awakening and the Slaves
The First Great Awakening had brought Christianity to the African slaves, the second brought the message of spiritual equality, a conviction that there would be deliverance from slavery and a rise in the number of black preachers. For additional information refer to Nat Turner's Rebellion.
What were the Effects of the
Second Great Awakening?
The effects of the Second Great Awakening included:
● The Second Great Awakening enrolled millions of new members to various religious denominations
● An increase in Presbyterians, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists and Methodists
● The emergence of movements to prohibit alcoholic beverages, to support rights for women and to further education
● More women converted than men
● The establishment of Religious schools and Bible study groups
● A
divergence of religious beliefs between the North and the South
● Abolitionist (anti-slavery) movements emerged in the North
● Pro-Slavery movements emerged in the South
● An emergence in black Protestantism and the founding of African-American churches
What was the Impact of the Second Great Awakening?
What was the Impact of the Second Great Awakening? The Second Great Awakening was extremely important as it led to the establishment of reform movements to address injustices
and alleviate suffering such as the Temperance Movement, the Women's suffrage Movement and the Abolitionist Movement in which people advocated for emancipation on religious grounds.
In antebellum America, a religious revival called the Second Great Awakening resulted in thousands of conversions to evangelical religions. Itinerant preachers, such as Charles Granison Finney, traveled from town to town, lecturing to crowds about eradicating sin in the name of perfectionism. Camp meetings, or large religious gatherings, also gave the devout opportunities to practice their religion and for potential conversions of non-believers. In addition to a religious movement, other reform movements such as temperance, abolition, and women's rights also grew in antebellum America. The temperance movement encouraged people to abstain from consuming alcoholic drinks in order to preserve family order. The abolition movement fought to abolish slavery in the United States. The women's rights movement grew from female abolitionists who realized that they too could fight for their own political rights. In addition to these causes, reforms touched nearly every aspect of daily life, such as restricting the use of tobacco and dietary and dress reforms.