Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The National Banking Acts and their supporting legislation led to 263 state bank closures and 934 charter conversions between 1863 and 1870. This paper measures and analyzes these sudden changes using the period's first complete bank‐level census. The data suggest that the national capital requirements prevented many existing banks from converting to a national charter, whereas a tax on state bank notes was responsible for the large number of closures. The legislation also prevented new national banks from replacing closed state banks and, instead, encouraged note and security brokers to open new banks in developing areas along the Manufacturing Belt.