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Collection Reference Number GLC00931
From Archive Folder Documents Relating to 1834 
Title David Crockett to John Drurey attacking Jackson and the Bank of the US
Date 4 April 1834
Author Crockett, David (1786-1836)  
Recipient Drurey, John  
Document Type Correspondence
Content Description Attacks Jackson concerning the Bank of the US and compares him to Julius Caesar. the "despot" Jackson and "little Judas" Van Buren.
Subjects American West  President  Classical World and Ancient Civilization  Bank of the US  Banking  Finance  Economics  Politics  
People Crockett, David ('Davy') (1786-1836)  Jackson, Andrew (1767-1845)  Van Buren, Martin (1782-1862)  
Place written Washington City, [?]
Theme The Presidency; Banking & Economics; Government & Politics
Sub-collection The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859
Additional Information Jackson's decision to divert funds from the bank drew strong support from many business people who believed that the bank's destruction would increase the availability of credit. Jackson, however, hated all banks. Based partly on his unpleasant personal experience with debt, Jackson believed that the only sound currency was gold and silver. The President launched a crusade to replace all bank notes with hard money. In the Specie Circular of 1836, he prohibited payment for public lands with anything but gold or silver. Initially, land sales, canal construction, cotton production, and manufacturing boomed following Jackson's decision to divert federal funds from the bank. At the same time, inflation increased dramatically; prices rose 28 percent in three years. Then in 1837, just after the election of Jackson's hand-picked successor, Democrat Martin Van Buren, a deep financial depression struck the country. Not until the mid-1840s would the country fully recover from the effects of the Panic of 1837. In this letter, David Crockett (1780-1836), the famous frontier hero and an anti-Jackson member of Congress from Tennessee, attacks Jackson's withdrawal of government funds from the Bank of the United States and calls the president a tyrant ruled by personal ambition. Crockett blamed the economic panic on Jackson and his war on the bank. In 1835, pro-Jackson forces defeated Crockett's reelection bid.
Copyright The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Module Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859
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