This is an excerpt from a statement written by Thomas Jefferson on February 23, 1791.
It has been much urged that a bank will give great convenience in the collection of taxes...yet the Constitution
allows only the means which are “necessary,” not those which are merely “convenient”.... There is not one
[power] which ingenuity may torture into convenience in some instance or other, to someone of so long a list
of enumerated powers and reduce the whole to one power.... Therefore, it was that the Constitution
restrained them to the necessary means; that is to say, to those means without which the grant of the power
would be [useless].
Based on this excerpt, what was the main reason that Jefferson opposed the establishment of a
national bank?
A Jefferson believed a national bank would harm creditors like merchants and financiers.
B Jefferson supported a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution.
C Jefferson opposed the creation of any institution that facilitated the payment of taxes.
D Jefferson believed a national bank would not improve the nation’s economy
1 answer