Bank of Pennsylvania
TheBank of Pennsylvaniaor thePennsylvania Bankcan refer to two institutions: one that existed during theAmerican Revolutionary War,and another chartered by the state in 1793.
Revolutionary bank[edit]
The first Bank of Pennsylvania was organized on July 17, 1780 at the suggestion ofThomas Paineto fund provisions for theContinental Army.Citizens were urged to pledge state andcontinental moneyto the bank, and a total of£315,000 in depreciated money was raised. The organizers then proposed toCongressto supply the army with these funds, if Congress would reimburse them with interest. Congress agreed and posted security in the form of bills drawn on its foreign envoys.Robert MorrisandAlexander Hamiltonwould later observe that this was not properly a bank, since it did not lend, but rather a purchasing agency on behalf of the government. It nonetheless provided critical support for the army following the disastrousSiege of Charleston.The bank continued purchases for a year and a half, ultimately giving way to theBank of North America,and was wound down after the war in 1784.[1]
Chartered bank[edit]
In 1793, the Bank of Pennsylvania was established with a charter from the Commonwealth ofPennsylvania,and branches were opened inPittsburgh,Harrisburg,Lancaster,Reading,andEaston.[2]The bank collapsed in September 1857, with Thomas Allibone of the family firm Thomas Allibone & Co. serving as its president.[3]
In 1870, the only remaining piece of the bank headquarters building—one of its iconic stone columns—was moved toAdrian, Michigan,where it was erected as aCivil War Memorialin commemoration of the 84 local soldiers who died in theAmerican Civil War.[4]
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John Lewis Krimmel,Black Sawyers Working in front of the Bank of Pennsylvania(ca.1813)
References[edit]
- ^Sumner, William Graham (1891).Robert Morris: The Financier and the Finances of the American Revolution.Vol. 2.
- ^Klein, Philip Shriver;Ari Hoogenboom(1973).A History of Pennsylvania.Penn State Press. p. 223.
- ^History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland, John Hugh Campbell, Hibernian Society, 1892
- ^State of Michigan (2009)."Civil War Memorial".Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2010.RetrievedJune 1,2010.
Further reading[edit]
- Rappleye, Charles(2010).Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution.New York:Simon & Schuster.pp.265–289.ISBN978-1416570912.
External links[edit]
- Historic American Buildings Survey(HABS) No. PA-1392, "Bank of Pennsylvania, 421 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA",5 photos, 4 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- Banks based in Pennsylvania
- Defunct banks of the United States
- Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania
- Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia
- Banks established in 1780
- Banks disestablished in the 18th century
- Banks established in the 1790s
- Banks disestablished in 1857
- 1780 establishments in Pennsylvania
- 1793 establishments in Pennsylvania
- American companies established in 1793