Nicholas Biddle

Nicholas Biddle
Portrait by William Inman, c. 1830s
President of the Second Bank of the United States
In office January 6, 1823 – March 3, 1836
President	James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Langdon Cheves
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 1st district
In office 1813–1815
Preceded by	John Barclay
Succeeded by	William Maghee
Personal details
Born	(1786-01-08)January 8, 1786 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died	February 27, 1844(1844-02-27) (aged 58) Andalusia, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, US
Political party	Whig
Spouse	Jane Craig ​ (m. 1811)​
Children	6, including Charles
Parent(s)	Charles and Hannah Biddle
Relatives	See Biddle family
Education	University of Pennsylvania College of New Jersey
Signature

Nicholas Biddle (January 8, 1786 – February 27, 1844) was an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States (chartered 1816–1836).^[1] Throughout his life Biddle worked as an editor, diplomat, author, and politician who served in both houses of the Pennsylvania state legislature. He is best known as the chief opponent of Andrew Jackson in the Bank War.

Born into the Biddle family of Philadelphia, young Nicholas worked for a number of prominent officials, including John Armstrong Jr. and James Monroe. In the Pennsylvania state legislature, he defended the utility of a national bank in the face of Jeffersonian criticisms. From 1823 to 1836, Biddle served as president of the Second Bank, during which time he exercised power over the nation's money supply and interest rates, seeking to prevent economic crises.^[2][3][4]

With prodding from Henry Clay and the Bank's major stockholders, Biddle engineered a bill in Congress to renew the Bank's federal charter in 1832. The bill passed Congress and headed to President Andrew Jackson's desk. Jackson, who expressed deep hostility to most banks, vetoed the measure, ratcheting up tensions in a major political controversy known as the Bank War.^[5] When Jackson transferred the federal government's deposits from the Second Bank to several state banks, Biddle raised interest rates, causing a mild economic recession. The federal charter expired in 1836, before the Panic of 1837, but the bank continued to operate with a Pennsylvania state charter until its ultimate collapse in 1841.