Thomas DiLorenzo writes in chapter 31 of his blockbuster new book, “Organized Crime: The Unvarnished Truth About Government” the following:

Concerning the efforts of Andrew Jackson to defund the Second Bank of the United States:

“In the same year that the Bank of the United States (BUS) was resurrected-1816-Indiana and Illinois amended their state constitutions to prohibit the BUS from establishing branches within their jurisdictions.  North Carolina, Georgia and Maryland joined in the battle by imposing heavy taxes on BUS branches that existed within their borders.  Their obvious intent was to tax them out of business.”

The federal government sued and the chief justice John Marshall upheld the federal government’s position that the states did not have this taxing power.  The states, Ohio, in particular, remained undeterred.  DiLorenzo continues:

“The Ohio state legislature stated that it was aware of the ‘theory’ that the Supreme Court should be the lone interpreter of the Constitution-a theory that was invented by John Marshall, by the way.  But it also declared that ‘to this doctrine…they can never give their assent.’  The Ohio legislature quoted Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolutions to bolster its case that each party to a constitutional contract has an equal right to interpret the Constitution for themselves.  John Marshall was wrong, they said, and considered themselves to be under no obligation to acquiesce in his ‘ruling.’”  

Eventually, and emboldened by the actions of the folks from Ohio, Kentucky, Connecticut, South Carolina, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania turned on the bank, leaving the BUS no choice but to close.  

DiLorenzo closes this chapter:  ”President Andrew Jackson is generally credited with vetoing the recharter of the Second Bank of the United States, which he certainly did.  But he had a lot of help in his long, drawn-out political battle, and that help came from the people of the free, independent, and sovereign states who opposed any move in the direction of granting a monetary monopoly to the politicians in Washington, D.C.”

This pushback of the states against the tyranny and intrusion of the federal government has a long history and tradition in this country.  It is good to see that this sense of sovereignty is still alive and well as evidenced by multiple state governors rejecting the infrastructure and gallows of the health care plan.  Let’s hope this continues.

G. Keith Smith, M.D.