Merchants traveled from Britain to the United States and established the Bank of Pennsylvania in 1780 to fund the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). During this time, the Thirteen Colonies had not established currency and used informal trade to finance their daily activities. On January 4, 1782, the first commercial bank in the U.S., Bank of North America, opened. In 1791, U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton created the Bank of the United States, a national bank meant to maintain American taxes and pay off foreign debt. President Andrew Jackson closed the bank in 1832 and redirect all bank assets into U.S. state banks. State banks began printing money rapidly sparking run away inflation and leading to the Panic of 1837.