would not rest
till the censure was removed or "expunged" from the journal. At first
this did not seem likely to occur. But Benton kept at it, and at last,
in 1837, the Senate having become Democratic, he succeeded[1].

[Footnote 1: When the resolution had passed, the Clerk of the Senate was
ordered to bring in the journal, draw a thick black line around the
censure, and write across it "Expunged by order of the Senate, January
16, 1837."]

%341. Wildcat State Banks.%--As soon as the reelection of Jackson
made it certain that the charter of the Bank of the United States would
not be renewed, the same thing happened in 1833 that had occurred in
1811. The legislature of every state was beset with applications for
bank charters, and granted them. In 1832 there were but 288 state banks
in the country. In 1836 there were 583. Some were established in order
to get deposits of the government money. Others were started for the
purpose of issuing paper money with which the bank officials might
speculate. Others, of course, were founded with an honest purpose. But
they all issued paper money, which the people borrowed on very poor
security and used in speculation.

%342. The Period of Speculation.%--Never before had the opportunity
for speculation been so great. The new way of doing business, the rise
of corporations and manufactures, drew people into the cities, which
grew in area and afforded a chance for investors to get rich by
purchasing city lots and holding them for a rise in price. Railroads and
canals were being projected all over the country. Another favorite way
of speculating, therefore, was to buy land along the lines of railroads
building or to be built. Suddenly cotton rose a few cents a pound, and
thousands of people began to speculate in slaves and cotton land. Others
bought land in the West from the government, at $1.25 an acre, and laid
it out into town lots,[1] which they sold for $10 and $20 apiece to
people in the East. In short, everybody who could was borrowing paper
money from the banks and speculating.

[Footnote 1: Sometimes ten such lots would be laid out on an acre]

Under these conditions, any cause which should force the banks to stop
loaning money, or to call in that already loaned, would bring on a
panic. And this is just what happened.

%343. The Specie Circular.%--Speculation in government land was so
general that the annual sales rose from $2,300,000 in 1831, to
$24,900,000 in 1836.[2]