James Madison: The Second National Bank—Powers Not Specified in the ConstitutionLesson Two of the Curriculum Unit: James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to PresidentGuiding Questions
Learning ObjectivesAfter completing this lesson, students will be able to:
1. What Was the Problem?Raising funds for national defense or for an army in time of war is much easier if a national bank exists . For example, a bank can facilitate the acquisition of loans. In 1811 Congress had allowed the charter of the First National Bank, which Madison considered unconstitutional, to elapse. The War of 1812 created a new need for the bank, but the question remained whether a national bank was constitutional.Give your class background on the First and Second National Banks from the class text or another source, such as:
2. What Does the Constitution Say?Review with the class the relevant sections of the U.S. Constitution, available on the EDSITEment resource The Avalon Project. These include:
Does the Constitution say anything specific that would relate to the incorporation of a national bank? (No). Does the power to raise revenue (Article 1, Section 7, #1) imply the ability to incorporate a bank? Does the ability to borrow money (Article 1, Section 8, #2) imply the ability to incorporate a bank? Does a national bank promote the "general welfare" (Article 1, Section 8)? Would a national bank tend to benefit one state or region more than another, such as a state with many businesses dealing in finance as opposed to an agricultural state (Article 1, Section 9)? Should incorporating banks be the responsibility of the states (Article 6, Section 2, Tenth Amendment)? Some opponents argued that a national bank would infringe on state banks, making them ineffective. Students should think about this issue as they learn more. 3. A Brief Look at the Documentary RecordDistribute the handout "Excerpts from the Debate in the House over the National Bank" (see Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit for download instructions). In it, parts of the debate On the Establishment of a National Bank (from Elliot's Debates, available on the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory) have been extracted, simplified, and written in first-person in the form of a script. There are eight roles. Assign the parts to student volunteers who will read the script aloud.Discuss the debate. To what parts of the Constitution do the speeches refer? What arguments are used to oppose the bank? What arguments are used in support of the bank? What is mentioned in the debate about the usefulness of a national bank? What do students think about the constitutionality of a national bank? Remind students that a law that produces a positive result is not necessarily constitutional. 4. What Did Madison Have to Say about the First National Bank?Read with the class either "Madison's Edited Remarks on the Constitutionality of a National Bank" or "Madison's Complete Remarks on the Constitutionality of a National Bank" (see Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit for download instructions). To what parts of the Constitution does Madison refer? What arguments does he use to oppose the bank? What does Madison say about the usefulness of a national bank? Does Madison offer any suggestions as to what could make the bank constitutional?If students want to read a brief modern analysis, The James Madison Center, a link from the EDSITEment resource The American President, offers commentary on Madison's speech in the House on the national bank in the introduction to James Madison Debates the Constitutionality of a National Bank. 5. What Did Madison Have to Say about the Second National Bank?As President, James Madison signed the act establishing the Second National Bank. In 1831, he reflected on the debates over the Second National Bank. About 15 years later, he was still defending himself against the charge that he had been inconsistent in supporting the second bank when he had objected so strongly to the first. Here is the core of his remarks:The charge of inconsistency between my objection to the constitutionality of such a bank in 1791, and my assent in 1817, turns on the question, how far legislative precedents, expounding the Constitution, ought to guide succeeding legislatures, and to overrule individual opinions.Madison asserted that legislation passed by Congress and carried out successfully with the approval of the people over a significant period of time sets a precedent of constitutional interpretation for future legislation. Once Congress had established a national bank that worked reasonably well for 20 years and was approved by the general public, all subsequent debates on creating related laws had to take that law's success into account. Interested students can read a more complete text of the Madison Letter of June 25, 1831 on the website of The James Madison Center, a link from the EDSITEment resource The American President. AssessmentStudents having completed the lesson should be able to respond effectively to the following:
The power now contested was exercised by the first Congress elected under the present constitution. The bill for incorporating the bank of the United States did not steal upon an unsuspecting legislature, and pass unobserved. Its principle was completely understood, and was opposed with equal zeal and ability. After being resisted, first in the fair and open field of debate, and afterwards in the executive cabinet, with as much persevering talent as any measure has ever experienced, and being supported by arguments which convinced minds as pure and as intelligent as this country can boast, it became a law. The original act was permitted to expire; but a short experience of the embarrassments to which the refusal to revive it exposed the government, convinced those who were most prejudiced against the measure of its necessity, and induced the passage of the present law. It would require no ordinary share of intrepidity to assert that a measure adopted under these circumstances was a bold and plain usurpation, to which the constitution gave no countenance.Ask students, working alone or in small groups, to set up a Venn Diagram with two intersecting circles. They can also use the interactive version of this diagram . One circle is for Marshall's arguments in the section of his opinion quoted above, the other for Madison's. In the intersection between the two circles put those arguments that are essentially the same for both men. Return to curriculum unit overviewPrevious lessonNext lessonSelected EDSITEment Websites
Other InformationStandards Alignment |