In connection with some research in the field of banking history the author recently came across the William Jones Papers, acquired a few years ago by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. These records, which are of unusual interest in many respects, are the basis of the present essay.
William Jones (1760-1831), as is generally known, was a Philadelphia shipping merchant and, during the War of 1812, both Madison's Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Treasury pro tem. In 1816 he became, for political reasons, the first president of the second Bank of the United States, but he resigned as early as January, 1819, after an inefficient and unsuccessful administration.