The Bank of New York

The Bank of New York, founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1784. This bank helped Hamilton stabilize the financial situation in America after the Revolutionary War.

The Bank of New York, now the New York Mellon, was founded in in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton following the Revolutionary war, a time of chaos. At that time there was only one bank in North America located in Philadelphia, a time where it was very difficult to conduct business. In the conclusion of the Revolutionary War there were many challenges as well as opportunities for New Yorkers, their city of residence became the new capital of New York State and the nation. Still remained were the traumas of British control like, inflation, fires, influxes and out migration of war refugees.[1] In the year 1784 a group of men with Alexander Hamilton as their leader decided to create a bank to help stabilize the financial situations of their country, Hamilton was an expert in the area of banking and economics. Soon enough the Bank of New York and its policies were in practice and prospering, it helped the city gain confidence as a business community. Hamilton becoming the Secretary of Treasury in 1789 helped create a relationship between the bank and our state and national governments that would benefit both parties. Hamilton writes, “the introduction of banks has been shewn on another occasion has a powerful tendency to extend the active Capital of a Country”. [2]The Bank of New York helped the new and struggling government, and it still remains a pillar of strength for this country through financial storms and panics many years later. The Bank of New York and the ideas of Alexander Hamilton helped evolve the American banking systems and stabilize the financial markets, it was known as the largest bank in New York as well as the safest bank in the United States. [3]

[1] Jaffe, Steven H., Museum of the City of New York, and Jessica Lautin. 2014. Capital of Capital : Money, Banking, and Power in New York City. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)

[2] Hamilton, Alexander. 1791. Report on the Manufacturers. Submitted to the U.S. Congress, December 5. At http://www.constitution.org/ah/rpt_manufactures.pdf.

[3] http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/bank-new-york