The eighth strike released from the “POTUS” series includes the portrait of “Andrew Jackson” (1767 – 1845) and the words, “I killed the bank.”
Chris Duane adds this comment concerning this President - “Andrew Jackson I feel is the greatest President this country has ever had. He recognized the true enemy of freedom in the banksters and focused all his energy towards destroying the Federal Reserve of his time.”
The Second Bank of the United States was the second privately held Central Bank and the predecessor to the current Federal Reserve. Philadelphian Nicholas Biddle as President of the Bank. Andrew Jackson was elected in 1828 on a wildly popular, populist ticket. The 20-year charter of the Second Bank of the United States would not expire until 1836, which would be, if he were re- elected, be the last year of his second term. He initial foray, during his first term in office, against the banksters was the removal of 2,000 of the 11,000 employees of the Federal Government.
In response to this, the banksters asked for their charter to be renewed 4 years earlier calculating Jackson would not want to cause controversy in his re-election year. Congress passed and sent the bill to Jackson to be signed into law and he promptly vetoed it. In his address he said,
“Some of powers and privileges possessed by the existing Bank are unauthorized by the Constitution, subversive to the rights of the States, and dangerous to the liberties of the people. It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people. Their power would be great whenever they might choose to exert it...to influence elections or control the affairs of the nation. But if any private citizen or public functionary should interpose to curtail its powers or prevent a renewal of its privileges, it cannot be doubted that he would be made to feel its influence...”
Andrew Jackson continued:
“Controlling our currency, receiving our public moneys, and holding thousands of our citizens in dependence, it would be more formidable and dangerous than the naval and military power of the enemy.” Andrew Jackson then took his re-election to the states under the slogan “Jackson and NO Bank.” He won by a landslide despite the banksters pumping unprecedented amounts of money into Jackson’s Republican opponent. Jackson reacted by saying to his vice-president, Martin Van Buren, "The Bank is trying to kill me, Sir, but I shall kill it!"
Once he was re-elected, he directed the Treasurer to withdraw all government deposits from the Second Bank of the United States and deposited the funds into local state banks. When the Treasurer of the United States refused to follow the President’s directive, Jackson fired him. The next Treasurer also refused the President’s directive and was fired as well. The third Treasurer was held up in Congress by the 2nd B.U.S. President Nicholas Biddle who even went so far as to threaten that if the Charter wasn’t continued, he would throw the country into a Great Depression.
In February 1834 President Jackson said, "Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out.”
Andrew Jackson was the last President of the United States to have the national debt totally paid off. On January 8th 1835 it was declared in Congress, "Gentlemen ... the national debt ... is PAID.”
As political tensions rose in Jackson’s war on the Bank, there was an assassination attempt on Andrew Jackson. January 30th, 1835 Richard Lawrence fired two pistols at point blank range and through a divine miracle, both pistols misfired. Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett literally beat the would-be assassin into submission.
COA's #361, 362, 363, 364, 365 available
Total Mintage 548