First Bank of the United States.

Independence from Great Britain brought the United States and its constituent states considerable debt. The amount of state and national debt increased under the Articles of Confederation. The lack of a stable national currency further undermined the new nation’s international credibility. After the adoption of the Constitution, Congress in October, 1789, asked Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to study the problem and create a report on the nation’s credit. Hamilton’s Report on the Public Credit, January, 1790 advocated establishing the credit of the United States by assuming responsibility for the debts of the Articles of Confederation government, the debts incurred during the Revolutionary War, the foreign debt principally owed to France, and the debts of the states. The report recommended chartering a national bank that would be responsible for issuing a national currency and levying protective tariffs to raise revenue.