AND THE WHIG COALITION 353 



the law of 1836 regulating the deposits in the state 

 banks was defeated by the votes of a small party, led by 

 William C. Rives. The great question then came up. 

 On constitutional grounds, Mr. Tyler's objection to 

 the United States Bank had always been that Con- 

 gress had no power to create such a corporation within 

 the limits of a state without the consent of the state, 

 ascertained beforehand. He did not deny, however, 

 the power of Congress to establish a district bank for 

 the District of Columbia, and, provided the several 

 states should consent, there seemed to be no reason 

 why this district bank should not set up its branch 

 offices all over the country. Mr. Clay's so-called " fis- 

 cal bank" bill of 1841 did not make proper provision 

 for securing the assent of the states, and on that ground 

 Mr. Rives proposed an amendment, substituting a 

 clause of a bill suggested by Thomas Ewing, Secretary 

 of the Treasury, to the effect that such assent should 

 be formally secured. Mr. Rives's amendment was 

 supported not only by several so-called " State Rights 

 Whigs," but also by Senators Richard H. Bayard and 

 Rufus Choate, and other friends of Mr. Webster. If 

 adopted, its effect would have been conciliatory, and it 

 might perhaps have averted for a moment the rupture 

 between the ill-yoked allies. The Democrats, well 

 aware of this, voted against the amendment, and it was 

 lost. The bill incorporating the Fiscal Bank of the 

 United States was then passed by both houses, and 

 on the 1 6th of August was vetoed by the President. 

 An attempt to pass the bill over the veto failed of 

 the requisite two-thirds majority. 



The Whig leaders had already shown a disposi- 

 tion to entrap the President. Before the passage of 



2A 



