The Battle with BiddleThe formation of the Second Bank of the United States occurred at the end of the War of 1812, in 1819. It was granted a twenty-year charter. For nearly 200 years, the battle between Bank Chairman Nicholas Biddle and President Andrew Jackson remains one of the most controversial events in history. Many historians believe that Andrew Jackson simply sought to destroy the Bank of the United States. Jackson reportedly told Martin Van Buren: “the Bank is trying to kill me, but I'm going to kill it” (Bernard Weisberger, 12 years old). Was the recharter issue a personal vendetta, or did Andrew Jackson act responsibly according to the law? Nicholas Biddle was named president of the Bank of the United States in 1823. In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States. Biddle felt that President Jackson's role was inferior to his own. By the late 1820s, their personal struggle had turned into war, just as politics had turned into theater. Jackson did not believe in bank notes, but instead believed that all bank notes should be backed by silver and gold, also called specie. The Bank, meanwhile, was doing business for seventy million dollars a year, circulating twenty-one million dollars of its own notes (Weisberger, 11). Financially, America was prosperous. Settlers started businesses, bought land, and created the American dream. As America prospered from its own successes, Biddle decided to seek a new charter four years earlier during the election year of 1832. Andrew Jackson was running for office and Biddle saw this as an opportunity. Recharter passed the Senate 20-8 and the House 107-85 (Weisberger, 11). It was now in the President's hands, and Biddle was...... middle of paper ......r he believed a first-rate civic strategy demanded it. Jackson succeeds in destroying the Bank of the United States. Perhaps the most ironic part of all this is that the man who didn't believe in paper money now has his face glued to the most popular paper money in circulation in the United States. Works Cited Bennett, William J. “America: The Last Best Hope” (Volume I): From the Age of Discovery to a World at War. » Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006. 247-250. Print.Perkins, Edwin J. "Lost Opportunities for Compromise in the Banking War: A Reassessment of Jackson's Veto Message." » Review of the company's history. 61.4 (1987): 531-542. General OneFile. Internet. April 10, 2011. Weisberger, Bernard A. “The Banking War: History of America's First Government Bank.” American Heritage. July-August. 1997: 10-12. General OneFile. Internet. April 12. 2011.