John Tyler Completes His Bank Report Attacking Andrew Jackson’s Bank Policy, Which Led to His Nomination For Vice President

One of Andrew Jackson’s prime goals in office was to get rid of the Bank of the United States, which he saw as serving the goals of the wealthy at the expense of the common people. Congress attempted to reauthorize the Bank, but in 1832 Jackson vetoed the reauthorization. In Jackson’s veto message, he conceded that while a national bank may be “convenient”, it is “subversive of the rights of the States, and dangerous to the liberties of the people.” He went on to call the bank a monopoly that hindered the common man, whom he strived to represent as president. The Bank’s charter was not to expire until 1836, so it remained a matter of deep controversy. In 1833, Jackson removed federal deposits from the bank, whose money-lending functions were taken over by the legions of local and state banks that materialized across America, thus drastically increasing credit and speculation. The U.S. Senate, in a political maneuver spearheaded by Jackson-rival Senator  Henry Clay and his Whig Party, censured Jackson on March 28, 1834, for his action in removing the funds.

Virginia Senator John Tyler was a maverick without a strong party affiliation after the 1828 election, but he tilted towards Jackson and the Democrats. He came to disagree with Jackson on many issues, and was offended when Jackson moved to dissolve the Bank by executive fiat. He made the decision to oppose Jackson on the Bank in January 1834. Tyler’s opposition to the Bank was a real asset to its opponents, as he was chairman of the influential Senate Investigating Committee. He determined to look into the banking situation, and traveled around the country investigating as he went. He produced a report that took him 2 1/2 hours to read to the Senate on February 24, 1834, and it had a pro-Bank flavor that pleased the Whigs. Some say Daniel Webster encouraged him to deliver it. He then stunned Senators  that same day by calling for an end to the Bank, a seeming contradiction. But he voted against Jackson’s plan to withdraw funds, and voted for the censure motion in March. Thus, though he zig-zagged, he was mainly perceived as pro-Whig.

Autograph letter signed, Washington, no date but circa February 23, 1834, to Roger ap Catesby Jones, the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, saying he is finishing up his bank report. ”The Bank report goes in in the morning, such is at least my hope, but I am obliged to work without much ceasing in order to accomplish it. Under these circumstances I know that a soldier who places duty above all things will excuse me. Nothing could afford me more pleasure than to be with you at dinner if otherwise circumstanced.” 

At the Whig National Convention in December 1839, the party, hoping to appear non-partisan and encourage Democrats and independents to vote for their ticket, selected Tyler as their vice presidential nominee. It proved to me a momentous lapse in judgment, as when President William Henry Harrison died after just one month in office, President Tyler had no interest in the Whig agenda, vetoed several of his party’s bills, and rendered them ineffectual.

This letter was part of the Roger Jones papers we have acquired, and has never before been offered for sale.