Before Jekyll Island: How Andrew Jackson Killed America's Central Bank

Andrew Jackson is the only American president who set out to destroy the nation's central bank and won. This is the full story of how he did it, and of the financial chaos his victory left behind. In 1832, Jackson vetoed the recharter of the Second Bank of the United States, called it a monster, and began a four-year war against the most powerful financial institution in the country and the brilliant, vain banker who ran it, Nicholas Biddle. Before it was over, the fight had censured a president, split a cabinet, given rise to the Whig Party, and helped drag the country into the Panic of 1837. When the smoke cleared, the United States had no central bank at all, and it would not build another for 77 years, until six men met in secret on Jekyll Island to design the Federal Reserve. This is the prequel to that story, and the answer to the question the Jekyll Island audience kept asking: how the country reached 1913 with no central bank in the first place. Empire of Acres investigates the dark history of American power, the dynasties, institutions, and fortunes that built the country and then broke. If there is a subject you want investigated, leave it in the comments. The most requested stories become the next films. Subscribe to follow the series. #AmericanHistory #AndrewJackson #FederalReserve #BankWar #Documentary Copyright & Fair Use Notice This video is a non-commercial, educational history documentary produced for research and for purposes of commentary, critique, and analysis. Certain archival photographs and video clips appear here under the Fair Use doctrine (Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act), including use for commentary and criticism, news reporting, instruction, scholarship, and research.