In 1832, President
Andrew Jackson ran for reelection and called for the abolition of the
Second Bank of the United States. While he won the election, he worked to weaken the bank before the charter expired in 1836. Without the Bank of the United States, state banks attempted to fill the paper money gap and issued a large number of bank notes, which fueled
inflation. Hoping to halt the inflation and speculation in
public lands, Jackson and his Treasury secretary,
Levi Woodbury, issued the
Specie Circular on July 11, 1836. The circular simply stated that as of August 15, 1836, banks and others who received public money were required to accept only
gold and
silver coins in payment for public lands. Instead of the intended results, the circular spelled the end of a time of economic prosperity. The circular set into motion a panic, and the public began hoarding
specie. Without specie to pay out, banks and merchants began having financial troubles. It wasn't too long before the effects of Jackson's decision were felt across the nation as banks and businesses failed, and a depression ensued. By this time, Jackson's vice president,
Martin Van Buren, was the elected president in office. The period of economic hardship, the
Panic of 1837, during Van Buren's presidency came to be known as the "Hard Times". ==Designs==