Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster were also leaders that helped the United States find its identity. Henry Clay had a very active role in the national economic development. Clay was Speaker of the …show more content…
To finance the war the United States borrowed from many private banks at high interest rates. This resulted in high inflation. The United States was unable to redeem millions of dollars deposited into private banks. After the British burned down the nation’s capital in 1814 many banks outside of New England stopped redeeming their notes in gold and silver. Many soldiers, government securities and army contractors were not paid and treasury went bankrupt. Even after the war many banks refused to resume payments in gold or silver. In 1816 Congress voted to charter a second bank of the United States for 20 years, in return it required the bank to pay a bonus of $1.5 million to the federal government. Congress agreed that a national bank would strengthen the banking systems and ensure that bank notes were readily exchangeable for gold and