James Polk Specie Circular

James Polk Specie Circular

Also known as the “Coinage Act”, the Specie Circular was an executive order given by Andrew Jackson who was currently the president. It was later carried out by President Van Burn which required all land purchased would be paid for in gold and silver coins. Jackson originally created the plan to dispose of his longtime enemy, Nicholas Biddle, who was the current head of the National Bank of the United States at the time. It was believed that this would bankrupt him if the funds were then seized.

However, this decision proved to be almost fatal to the United States. This is due to how the coins were to come from the banks and the only way for the banks to be able to finance such a large withdraw was if they pulled in every loan they had given out which bankrupted many farmers and other land owners who were forced to either pay up or lose their land. This created the Panic of 1837, which would take many years to deal with by President Polk. However, Polk’s plan did not initially pass in the form of the Independent Treasury plan. However, eventually the Independent Treasure System was successfully implemented although the plan had failed when Polk stopped the National Bank from being recreated.

This was one of many moves which Polk took to stop political ambitions from the Whigs in Congress from gaining too much control over the people of the United States. Although some questioned his decisions and motives, it is believed that preventing the National Bank from being recreated helped to pave the way for not only the current financial system we use but also protect the money of the American people through a number of different events which might have led to its downfall.