A lesson in history: What role competition plays in banking and why there are so many banks in America

• There are 4100 banks in America. Why does America have so many banks? And does it have anything to do with the recent bank failures?
• The answer to these questions has to do with how competition in banking has been conceptualized in America historically. Let's take a trip down America's history and see what stories Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson have to tell us about where we are today.