1834 Highlights: In his December Message to Congress, President Jackson stated that the nation was “free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated foreign issues.” He went on to say that the Bank of the United States was the cause of the “real distresses which individuals and the country had endured for the preceding eight months.” He called it the “scourge of the people.” Jackson's actions against the bank led to severe tightening of credit and helped precipitate the business panics from 1834-1837.