The Second Bank, located in Philadelphia, was founded after the War of 1812 when it was realized that without a national bank (the charter on the first bank was allowed to lapse) it would be impossible to fund another war such as the one just fought. Founded in 1816, the building was finished in 1818. William Strickland, one of the first great American architects designed the building, and Nicholas Biddle was the first president of the bank. After a long battle, Andrew Jackson disbanded the bank in the 1832 during his crusade against the national banking system.