Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • December 2007
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York

By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:22
ShareBar

Abstract

The New York State Legislature had come to a standstill in 1829 as lawmakers refused to charter any new banks or recharter any existing banks. Four of New York's forty banks had failed since 1825, and many legislatures believed that a significant change in the banking regime was needed to shore up the state's financial systems. Others, however, feared that a major change in the law was too risky, especially since over three-quarters of the state's banks held charters that were slated to expire over the next four years. On the table was a completely untested proposal to create a mandatory public insurance fund that would back the banknotes and deposits of every state bank. As bank charters throughout New York State rapidly approached expiration, lawmakers faced a tough decision: should they pass the bill and gamble with the untried insurance fund, or should they go seek a more traditional solution to the state's banking woes?

Keywords

History; Risk Management; Government Legislation; Insurance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

Citation

Moss, David A., and Cole Bolton. "The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York." Harvard Business School Case 708-037, December 2007.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

David A. Moss

Business, Government and the International Economy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2020
    • Faculty Research

    The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy

    By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins
    • 2017
    • Faculty Research

    Democracy: A Case Study

    By: David Moss
    • February 2016 (Revised July 2017)
    • Faculty Research

    An Australian Ballot for California?

    By: David Moss, Marc Campasano and Dean Grodzins
More from the Authors
  • The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins
  • Democracy: A Case Study By: David Moss
  • An Australian Ballot for California? By: David Moss, Marc Campasano and Dean Grodzins
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College