Philadelphia Quaker Predicts Civil War Over Andrew Jackson's Bank War

The "Bank War" was a political struggle between President Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle, president of the Second Bank of the United States, which was headquartered in Philadelphia. The conflict centered on Jackson's opposition to the Bank's constitutionality and its concentration of economic power, leading him to veto its 1832 recharter. Biddle, from his bank's building in Philadelphia, responded to the veto and Jackson's later decision to remove federal deposits by contracting credit, exacerbating the economic turmoil that ultimately led to the Bank's demise in 1841. JACK A. CORNEAU writes two ALSs 8 x 10, 2 1/4 pp each, from Philadelphia March 14th and March 30th, 1834, to his cousin Martha Gibbs in New Jersey. Language employed by Corneau indicates he was a Quaker. March 14th: "...Times are very bad here, excepting in the wholesale way, and they are doing well because the western merchants who constitute their customers now, have not felt the pressure on the money market yet, but they will feel it with a vengeance next fall. Many of our merchants refuse to sell on credit because they know they will never get the chink. If we had old Jackson here about 5 minutes, there would not be much left of him after that time. I would not be at all surprised if we were to have a civil war in less than 3 months, if something is not done before that time. You have no idea in the country of the distress in the city and suburbs occasioned by the President's war against the bank. We had a meeting yesterday of eight thousand young men and there was some of the most brilliant specimens of eloquence that man ever heard.Next Thursday there will be one which will consist of something like ten or fifteen thousand persons, and I have no doubt but that it will be the means of something being done by Congress or the President, one way or another, either war or a recharter of the bank. There are more than 5 thousand poor people thrown out of employment in this city and vicinity, hundreds of whom have to go to the poor house to keep from actual starvation..." (March 30): "...Fanny Kemble has got another feather in her cap by her anti-Jackson toast she deserves a great deal of credit for it, and no doubt sees that we have got a man for President far worse than their English Kings. I suppose thee heard of our Great Meeting on Thursday week of 50,000 men. It was indeed truly great in every respect. Imagine to thyself 50,000 men... jammed so tight together in one almost solid body that you could not get 'any most nothin between 'em no how.'" Corneau's reference to Kemble having given an anti-Jackson toast appears to be incorrect. Her resistance to Jackson was expressed in her journal. The idea of a toast may have stemmed from an incident she witnessed aboard a steamboat between two men at dinner, one a Bostonian and the other a Jacksonite. The discussion was tense and to diffuse the situation, she apparently shouted, "Oh, hang General Jackson" in jest. The event captured the anti-Jackson fervor. Folds. Quite readable. Seal damage to the integral address leaves of both letters, but not affecting the writing. Everything we sell is guaranteed authentic forever to the original buyer. We also offer a 30-day return policy. If you discover a problem or are dissatisfied with an item, please contact us immediately. Our goal is to please every customer. We are pleased to be members of The Manuscript Society, Universal Autograph Collectors Club, The Ephemera Society, the Southern New England Antiquarian Booksellers and the Preferred Autograph Dealers and Auction Houses [P 279]