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The first Bank of the United States

February 08, 1791

On this date, the House of Representatives passed a bill establishing the first Bank of the United States.  In both the House and the Senate, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton of New York lobbied support for the bank legislation.  Hamilton believed that Article I Section 8 of the Constitution permitting the Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper for the government, empowered lawmakers to create a national bank.  However, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson  and Representative James Madison of Virginia argued that powers not expressly granted to Congress in the Constitution belonged to the states.  Constitutional arguments aside, Hamilton struck a deal with Southern legislators to move the capital city to the South in exchange for their support of the government’s absorption of Revolutionary War debts.  The bill passed the House by a narrow margin with a vote of 39 to 20, and President George Washington signed the bank bill into law on February 25, 1791.

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Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=237, (December 15, 2010).

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Office of History and Preservation
(202) 226-1300
history@mail.house.gov

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During his service in the House, Representative James Madison of Virginia championed the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Teaching Tip

Ceremonies in the House
Ask students to locate highlight dates for three different House ceremonies. Use each of these dates to explain the functions of the House outside of the normal legislative day.

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