Category:Branches of the Bank of the United States

The Bank of the United States (now First Bank of the United States) was established by Congress as a national bank in 1791, under Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (then the temporary national capital), it had a charter of 20 years and established branch banks in 8 cities. Congress did not renew the bank's charter in 1811, and it went out of business.

Congress chartered a new Bank of the United States in 1816, again based in Philadelphia (Second Bank of the United States), which also had a 20 year charter. President Andrew Jackson opposed concentrating so much wealth in a single institution. He began withdrawing federal funds from the national bank in 1833, and depositing those funds in state banks. Congress did not renew the bank's charter in 1836, and it went out of business.