By 1860, the push to reestablish centralized financial authority had taken on new urgency. During this time, key figures, including prominent bankers in New York and Judah P. Benjamin-who would later become a leading figure in the Confederacy and a representative of Southern plantation interests-conspired to reshape the nation's financial system. The Civil War, which followed, was a pivotal moment in this effort. The conflict was not merely about slavery or states' rights but also about consolidating economic power under the control of Northeastern financial elites. The war provided an opportunity to centralize the authority to issue currency and undo the decentralized system that had been established during Andrew Jackson's presidency.

Control over the issuance of money grants immense power. It allows those who wield it to influence politicians, mayors, governors, and other key figures through bribery, coercion, and manipulation. This power is magnified when those in positions of authority are driven by self-interest rather than moral principles. After the Civil War, with the Union's victory and the centralization of power in the Northeast, the remaining opposition to a centralized banking system was systematically marginalized. Around the same time, similar financial consolidation was occurring in Europe, with the Bank of Hamburg evolving into the Reichsbank, Germany's central bank. These developments reflect a broader pattern of financial centralization and control that has shaped modern economic systems.