preview

Federal Reserve Failure

Decent Essays

The Federal Reserve was not established until 1913. During the Revolutionary war, the federal government printed the United States first printed money. However after the war ended, the U.S. had a substantial amount of debt and there was no common currency at that time. In 1790 the First Bank of the U.S. was established to help deal with war debts that the United States had accumulated. Alexander Hamilton, the United States treasury secretary at the time, designed the bank. The bank had a main office in Philadelphia, and a branch in each of the nation’s 8 major cities.Though originally designed to help with the government’s finances, it also served as a commercial bank. This bank lasted from 1791 to 1811. As the debt from the War of 1812 piled …show more content…

After the Civil War started, another need for a national bank emerged. The government wanted to learn from the mistakes of the first and second banks, so they developed the National Bank in 1869, which was modeled after the free banking system. This system allowed banks to choose between state and national charters. Though the bank was transformed into another bank in 1913, this was the United States first success at a uniform currency. Finally in 1913, the Federal Reserve was established. The architects of the federal reserve learned from the mistakes from the previous banks so that they could make this bank a success. This new federal reserve bank was given control over the nation’s payment system. The federal reserve was broken up into 12 District Banks that operated independently, so that there was not a concentration of power. Though not the original role of the Federal Reserve, today it is best known for the monetary policy. Today the federal reserve is run by the Board of Governors,which are seven members that are appointed by the President and are approved by the Senate. The Federal Reserve is composed of the Board of Governors, and twelve district

Get Access