Bank Wars and the Mexican War.
“Bank war.”
Bank war refers to the campaign begun by president Andrew Jackson in 1833 to destroy the second bank of NaUnited States by failing to renew its charter (Carpenter, Daniel & Schneer, 220). President Andrew Jackson, he was convinced that his opposition to the bank had won public support. The second bank was a private organization with a 20-year charter and permission to operate nationally.
Relationship between killing the bank by Jackson and the Panic of 1837
“Killing the Bank”
In September 1833, President Andrew Jackson announced that the government would no longer use the country’s second bank and consecutively removed federal governments using his executive power.
The panic of 1837.
The panic was a financial crisis brought about by the economic policies of President Andrew Jackson. The panic brought significant economic recession that went till the 1840s (Carpenter, Daniel & Schneer, 220) with the effect of an increase in the unemployment rate. In contrast, profit, prices, and wages went down. Hence, “Killing the Bank” act by the President is what led to the panic of 1837.
The President’s decision of killing the bank was not prudent at all. His actions brought increased inflation up to 28percent from 1833 to 1836 (Ferrell & Robert, 1846). Jackson thought that the removal of the funds from the second bank to other banks wouldn’t have led to a contraction of the total supply of credit. During the period, many banks collapsed, a lot of businesses failed, and a lot of people lost their jobs.
Reasons Polk give for a declaration of war
American president Polk wanted to extend the American border, and this elicited conflict between them and Mexico. After peaceful negotiation failed between diplomat John Slidell and Mexico failed, American sent its troops to the disputed area, which Mexico perceived as an act of aggression. Mexico, in return, sent its forces to counter-attack American troops (Morrison & James, 236). This attack led to President Polk declaring war on Mexico, citing shedding of American blood on American soil.
Justification for entering into war.
The US was justified to enter into this war since it was under economical, social, and political pressure. During that period, the US was experiencing a high population growth rate and immigrants and hence needed to expand to new territories. Also, expansion into frontier areas would provide new opportunities for commerce, thus economic growth.