To James Madison from George Lewis, 14 February 1815
From George Lewis
New York 14 Feby 1815
Sir
Viewing myself as the original former of the leading principles of the bill which has been the last before Congress on the subject of a national Bank,1 & thinking it possible that it may yet become a law, & considering the want of it as so much lessened in consequence of the late intelligence from Europe, I cannot withstand the temptation of observing, that the apparent necessity of the case alone induced me to advocate the measure, if it now passes it will become in the course of two or three years a powerful engine in the hands of the opposition, to prostrate the present administration, the State institutions will be reduced in consequence, & in some degree obliged to be subservient to them; in time of peace the public business can be done by an association of the above Banks, who can be selected, & who will devote themselves to the business of the Government.
The plan recommended in the National Intelligencer a few days since under the signature of Homo2 will answer the present purpose of the Secrey. of the Treasury & give time to consider the effects of an institution of the magnitude of the one now under consideration. Should a peace take place their will be no difficulty on the subject of money every description of war stock is already in the greatest demand, should a Bank pass so large a proportion of the stock will be held in Boston, that the holders will intrigue with other capitalists in other parts of the union & form the general & state direction as they formerly did, geting into place & power is their principal object, to effect this the mammoth Bank will be a useful engine & every nerve exerted to wield it with effect, some of the state institutions & more particularly the one in which I am in the direction have lossed no opportunity of doing their utmost to serve the Government during the late contest, should the before mentioned Bank take place, we shall lose the public business after having devoted our capital to the service of the United states at a very critical period, & we shall have the prospect of having our political enemies our task masters—this will be the case if the Bank now before the house becomes a law. I hope you will excuse the observations I have made & believe me sir with the greatest respect Yr Obd hum Sert
Geo. Lewis3
(Confidential).
RC (DLC).
1. For the Thirteenth Congress’ previous attempts to pass a national bank bill during its third session, see James Williams to JM, 2 Jan. 1815, and n. 2; for JM’s veto of the result of these efforts, see his message to the Senate, 30 Jan. 1815. The Senate did not override the veto, and on 6 Feb. 1815, James Barbour introduced the legislation to which Lewis evidently referred: a new bank bill that addressed JM’s objections by raising the capital of the bank to $50 million, requiring it to lend the government up to $30 million, and vesting control of specie payments in its directors and the Treasury. The bill passed the Senate on 11 Feb. but was indefinitely postponed in the House owing to the arrival of news that the war had ended ( 13th Cong., 3d sess., 208, 214, 224, 226, 232, 1167–68).
2. The piece to which Lewis referred, published in the Daily National Intelligencer on 9 Feb. 1815, urged that Congress establish a board to issue small Treasury notes backed by and exchangeable for government stock, and that the government require that all payments to it for taxes, land, and commodities be made in these notes. Such a system, “Homo” argued, would immediately raise the value of government stock from eighty percent to par, finance government debt payments and limit the need for taxes, improve the circulation of currency, and enable the government to borrow with ease, all of which would promote peace by eliminating Great Britain’s hope to profit militarily from the United States’ financial disarray. Finally, he asserted, such a board would “not interfere with any National Bank.” Essays by “Homo” on the subject of a national bank had appeared in the Daily National Intelligencer on 4, 8, 10, and 26 Nov. 1814, and the 16 Dec. 1814 issue carried one signed “Philo–Homo.” All of them, as well as that of 9 Feb. 1815, were almost certainly written by Thomas Law, who continued to expound his ideas on national finance under these and other pseudonyms through the Panic of 1819 (Murray N. Rothbard, The Panic of 1819: Reactions and Policies [New York, 1962], 114–15).
3. George Lewis was a member of the board of directors of the Manhattan Company, a New York bank (Longworth’s American Almanac, New-York Register, and City Directory; For the Thirty-Ninth Year of American Independence [New York, 1814; 31949], 33–34.