Wildcat Banking: Swamp Banks, Nail-Filled Vaults, and Worthless Notes

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

From roughly 1836 to 1865, the United States ran without a unified national currency. State-chartered banks printed their own paper notes, each a promise to pay gold or silver to whoever walked up to the counter. Wildcat banks exploited that promise by printing far more paper than they could redeem and, by one account of the name, by setting up shop in wilderness so remote that only wildcats lived there. This episode explains how the scheme worked, starting with Andrew Dexter Jr., who bought distant country banks in the early 1800s and paid Boston laborers with their unbacked notes.

The story runs through Andrew Jackson's war on the Second Bank of the United States, the 1836 Specie Circular that drained coin from the frontier, and the Panic of 1837. It reaches peak absurdity in Michigan, where 49 banks appeared almost overnight under the General Banking Act, and ends with the Civil War legislation that taxed state bank notes out of existence.

Dexter's Farmers Exchange Bank in Rhode Island collapsed in 1809 with more than $580,000 of its notes in circulation, the first American bank to officially fail.
Michigan bankers pooled their gold and sent it ahead by fast horse so the same coins could be counted at the next bank before the inspector arrived.
Commissioner Alpheus Felch pried open one bank's reserve boxes and found nails and broken glass under a thin layer of silver.
Merchants kept banknote reporters at the counter and discounted every bill by the reputation of its issuer, so a ten dollar note might buy six dollars of flour.
The National Bank Act of 1863 created a standardized currency backed by federal securities, and a 10 percent federal tax on state notes finished the wildcats.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(16184)

The Art of Adult Friendship: Why Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore how our understanding of friendship changes as we grow old...

9 Nov 18min

Summer Explained: The Science, History, and Traditions of the Warmest Season

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore summer, the season most closely associated with sunshine, ...

7 Nov 18min

Sir Patrick Stewart: From Shakespeare to Star Trek, the Life and Legacy of a Legend

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the extraordinary life of Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaim...

7 Nov 49min

Larry David: The Genius of Social Awkwardness, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life and career of Larry David, the comedian, writer, ...

6 Nov 38min

Why Australian Shepherds Aren't From Australia

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the history of the Australian Shepherd, an intelligent, en...

5 Nov 45min

Labrador Retriever: From Newfoundland Fishing Dogs to Modern-Day Heroes

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the remarkable history of the Labrador Retriever, one of t...

4 Nov 53min

Discovering Ireland: A Journey Through History, Culture, and the Wild Atlantic Way

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore Ireland through the philosophy of slow travel: go slower, ...

3 Nov 48min

Willie Hutch: An Overnight I'll Be There Lyric and The Mack's Soundtrack

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!William McKinley Hutchins was born in Los Angeles in December 1944 and raised in Dallas, where h...

2 Nov 21min