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Stephen Girard and the War Loan of February 8, 1813 Overview

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Stephen Girard and the War Loan of February 8, 1813 Overview Click Here to Return to Home Page and Main Menu Girard to the Rescue: Stephen Girard and the War Loan of February 8, 1813 – By Mark T. Hehnen – Overview By the first decade of the 19th Century, Stephen whatever loans were necessary, both from banks and private Girard was a well-known figure in the country and individuals, to meet unexpected expenses. He was wrong. especially in Philadelphia. He was widely admired for his extraordinary actions in the Yellow Fever epidemic and Another element of the financial stresses before the outbreak his civic participation and well known as a successful e of war was chaos in the banking system. We have forgotten ntrepreneur and reliable businessman. He was elected to that in those long ago times banks were simple businesses the Philadelphia City Council several times. He and John that were able to borrow and lend money primarily on the Jacob Astor were among the richest men in the country basis of how much specie, i.e. gold and silver coinage, they with reputations equivalent to later figures like Rockefeller, actually had in the vaults. Banks could issue “currency”, Carnegie or Warren Buffett. His financial reputation was promissory notes with a claim on the gold in the bank. to play a significant role in the war of 1812 Congress refused to re-charter the Bank of the United In the early years of the 19th Century, the Republican States in 1811. As a result, numerous state banks sprang up party of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison was elected throughout the country. With unrestricted issuance of bank on a platform based on the belief that the government notes of varying credibility by the various state-chartered should meddle as little as possible in the economic affairs banks, it soon became impossible to find a currency that of the country. In keeping with the beliefs of many of the was acceptable throughout the nation. Founding Fathers, including George Washington, they focused on controlling and reducing the national debt. When the Bank of the United States stock was finally They maintained that by reducing the expenditures of dissolved, Girard was the largest single stockholder. He the government, primarily by limiting military and naval then purchased the buildings of the Bank in Philadelphia appropriations, and with a general standard of frugality, and opened the doors of Stephen Girard’s Bank on May 12, they could afford to abolish internal taxes and still manage 1812 including a large deposit of government funds. Girard’s to pay off the debt through other sources of revenue. Led unchartered bank fared quite well in large part because of by Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, they were his strong reputation as a citizen and businessman. When quite successful in the first decade but at the expense of other banks were forced to contract their operations because maintaining military readiness. The debt was reduced by of their unstable policies, Girard’s Bank was able to expand, almost half between 1800 and 1812. which served to check the excesses of the other banks and the drain on currency. Their administrations were fully aware that with the advent of war, a major source of their revenue from customs As war with Great Britain became increasingly likely, receipts, tariffs and duties, would necessarily fall off sharply. Secretary Gallatin was successful in stirring Congress to Gallatin believed that the people of the United States, in authorize a loan of $10,300,000 on March 14, 1812. This an emergency, would gladly accept taxation. However, first loan was successfully subscribed. War was declared Congress proved to be reluctant to appropriate these June 18, 1812 and Congress followed up by doubling the funds, primarily because the opposition Federalist Party duties on imports and authorizing the issuance of Treasury was opposed to the war and Jeffersonian financial policy. Notes, which were short term one year loans. However, He also believed that it would be an easy matter to obtain these last minute measures were insufficient to cover the Included in the notice of the attempted opening of rising wartime expenditures, estimated by Gallatin to be a subscriptions for a second time was a request for proposals gap of almost $20 million against a budget of $32 million. to cover the residue of the loan, since there was little doubt that re-opening the subscriptions would meet with failure. A loan bill was proposed early in the Second Session of the Acting on this request, three men volunteered to accept Twelfth Congress and was passed over heated opposition the remainder of the loan. Stephen Girard, David Parish by both houses and made law on February 8, 1813. The and John Jacob Astor met in Philadelphia on the 5th of important facets of the bill were that it set the loan at $16 April and stepped in where the rest of the country had million, redeemable in thirteen years, and no provision was failed and sent proposals to Gallatin. On April 1st, 1813, made to back up the loan or provide security to supplement the Treasury was completely empty and could not meet the already overburdened national debt reduction fund. any demands put on it, and by the 17th the business of the The government had overextended its credit. Treasury was well in hand. Furthermore, at this time the war was not going well, so that An essential point about the War Loan of February 8th in addition to there being no provisions to secure the loan, 1813 is that, among other things, it was a vote of confidence potential subscribers were concerned that losing the war in the government at a crucial time and the vote was very would fatally jeopardize the repayment of the loan. When nearly negative. In addition to lending his own funds, the subscription books were closed in March the loan was Girard undoubtedly realized that by including his name as $10 million short. The crisis had been reached! an agent for the loan, public credit would be enhanced. Among the original buildings found on the grounds of a general standard of frugality, they could afford to abolish Girard College were, in my time, three, named Banker, internal taxes and still manage to pay off the debt. Merchant, and Mariner Halls. These buildings were so Jefferson’s choice for Secretary of the Treasury was Albert named to honor the achievements by which Stephen Gallatin, a Congressman from Western Pennsylvania, Girard was widely known in his own lifetime. To these, of and a Swiss by birth. Gallatin had distinguished himself course, may be added Humanitarian; both for his actions as the foremost authority on financial matters in the in life, most notably his efforts during the Yellow Fever Republican Party, to the point where he was indispensable epidemic of 1793, and his legacy at death, the establishment to the new government, and had long and ably contested of Girard College. Federalist financial policies as a member of the House of Representatives. Gallatin believed that the primary The purpose of this paper is to elucidate a little known consideration of all government should be to reduce the aspect of the life of Stephen Girard and to thereby give national debt, and that a government could not be devoted justification for adding another title to his name, that of to the best welfare of the nation until the debt had been Stephen Girard, Patriot. cancelled. He therefore devoted the early part of his career in the Treasury to the attainment of this goal. In I. Jeffersonian Finance and the War Loans order to achieve debt reduction, Gallatin immediately set Thomas Jefferson was elected to the Presidency in 1800 about recommending ways to reduce the expenses of the on a platform that is best characterized by a single phrase; administration. Jefferson had promised the early repeal laissez faire. Foremost on this platform was opposition to of taxes in his campaign, and thus set about the task of the financial policies of his predecessors. Believing that securing their repeal as one of his first official acts. The the government should meddle as little as possible in the taxes were abolished by Congress in April of 1802, with the economic affairs of the country, Jefferson’s party promised understanding that the resultant loss in revenue would be to rid the country of the evil of taxation. They proposed to balanced by a corresponding reduction in appropriations, spend their constant efforts to reduce the national debt as particularly for the Navy Department. Gallatin’s financial well. They maintained that reducing the expenditures of the policy was founded on the belief that by depending on government by limiting military and naval appropriations, revenue based solely on the receipts from customs and the reducing bureaucracy in government office, and generating sale of public lands, and reducing expenditures wherever possible, the government could devote a large segment States, allowing the charter to lapse in 1811. As a direct of its annual budget to a Sinking Fund, pledged to debt result of the Bank having to close its doors, numerous state reduction. This policy was highly successful in the first banks sprang up throughout the country. These had a decade of the nineteenth century. The debt was, in fact, ruinous effect on the economy and on the government as reduced from $83,000,000 in 1801 to $45,200,000 in 1812, well. With the loss of the stabilizing influence of a national in spite of the cost of the Louisiana Purchase. bank, the banking situation in general became chaotic. However, Gallatin was always fully aware that the With unrestricted issuance of bank notes by the various condition absolutely necessary for achieving the goals the state-chartered banks, it soon became impossible to find Republicans had set for themselves was the continuation a currency that was acceptable throughout the nation.
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