Alexander Hamilton Papers

Petition of the President, Directors, and Stockholders of the Bank of New York, 8 October 1784

Petition of the President, Directors, and Stockholders
of the Bank of New York1

New York, October 8, 1784. On this date the President, Directors, and Stockholders of the Bank of New York petitioned “the Honorable The Representatives of the State of New York in Senate and Assembly convened” for the passage of “an Act to incorporate the Subscribers to the said Bank by the Name and Stile of the President Directors and Company of the Bank of New York.” The petition set forth arguments on the usefulness of banks in general and the advantages of the Bank of New York to the state.

DS, Bank of New York, New York City.

1. This document was signed by H and eleven other of the bank’s stockholders.

According to Broadus Mitchell (Hamilton description begins Broadus Mitchell, Alexander Hamilton, Youth to Maturity, 1775–1788 (New York, 1957). description ends , 351), the petition of October 8, 1784, “is obviously, from logic and style, the work of Hamilton.” No conclusive evidence, however, substantiates the claim for H’s authorship.

For information on the Bank of New York, see “Constitution of the Bank of New York,” February 23–March 15, 1784.

Soon after its inauguration the Bank of New York applied to the New York legislature for incorporation. See “Outline of a Charter for the Bank of New York,” February 23–March 15, 1784. Despite its failure to secure a charter, the bank opened on June 9, 1784. The bank did not obtain a charter until 1791.

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    Hamilton Papers
    Title
    Petition of the President, Directors, and Stockholders of the Bank of New York, 8 October 1784
    Authors
    Hamilton, Alexander
    President, Directors, and Stockholders of the Bank of New York
    Date
    8 October 1784

    Reference

    Cite as
    “Petition of the President, Directors, and Stockholders of the Bank of New York, 8 October 1784,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-03-02-0386. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 3, 1782–1786, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962, pp. 581–582.]