The disagreement over the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States led to the formation of a division between those with a strict construction view and a loose construction view of the Constitution. Leading these opposing sides were Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Hamilton. Jefferson, who questioned the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States, was asked by George Washington to draft up a formal statement regarding the constitutionality of the bill. Thomas Jefferson opposed the bill because he believed that it was a misguided, unconstitutional concept that would only lead to a looser interpretation of the constitution. .
Jefferson begins by restating the bill for the National Bank and pointing out all of its unconstitutional implications. Jefferson asserts that the formation of a national bank would turn its customers, or American citizens into a "corporation" . He cites that enabling land grants is against the Statutes of Mortmain. Hypothetically, the bill would give customers that do not reside in America the capability of holding land. This is a violation of the "laws of Alienage". That land could also possibly left in a limbo with no owner since the "course of Descent" would change and this is against the laws of "Forefeiture and Escheat" and "Ditstribution" . Lastly, Jefferson claims that leaving the right to establish a bank to the federal government is a monopoly.
Speaking for those who believed in states' rights, Jefferson argued that the Constitution expressly enumerates all the powers belonging to the federal government and reserves all other powers to the states. Jefferson "[considered] the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, or to the people [10th amendment.
