Bank of North America

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BANK OF NORTH AMERICA

BANK OF NORTH AMERICA, America's first government-incorporated bank. In response to a severe depreciation of Continentals, bills of credit that had been used to finance the American Revolution, the Continental Congress appointed Robert Morris superintendent of a new department of finance in 1781. Morris opened a national bank that commenced operations in Philadelphia on 7 January 1782. The bank supplied vital financial aid to the government during the closing months of the American Revolution. Original depositors and stockholders included Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, James Monroe, John Jay, and Stephen Decatur.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rappaport, George D. Stability and Change in Revolutionary Pennsylvania. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996.

Ver Steeg, Clarence L. Robert Morris. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954. Reprint, New York: Hippocrene Books, 1970.

A. W.Whittlesey/f. b.

See alsoBanking ; Revolution, American: Financial Aspects .