Federal Reserve: Difference between revisions

The main motivation for the third central banking system came from the [[Panic of 1907]], which caused a renewed desire among legislators, economists, and bankers for an overhaul of the monetary system.<ref name="FDS-H-04"/><ref name="FDS-H-05"/><ref name="FDS-H-06"/><ref name="herrickpanic">{{Cite journal |last=Herrick |first=Myron |date=March 1908 |title=The Panic of 1907 and Some of Its Lessons |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1448652 |journal=Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=8–25 |doi=10.1177/000271620803100203 |jstor=1010701 |s2cid=144195201 |issn = 0002-7162}}</ref> During the last quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the United States economy went through a series of [[financial panics]].<ref name="EFlaherty"/> According to many economists, the previous national banking system had two main weaknesses: an [[elasticity (economics)|inelastic]] currency and a lack of liquidity.<ref name="EFlaherty">{{Cite web |last=Flaherty |first=Edward |date=June 16, 1997 |title=A Brief History of Central Banking in the United States |url=http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank00.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728104703/http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank00.htm |archive-date=July 28, 2012 |access-date=November 17, 2007 |publisher=University of Groningen |location=Netherlands}}</ref> In 1908, Congress enacted the [[Aldrich–Vreeland Act]], which provided for an emergency currency and established the [[National Monetary Commission]] to study banking and currency reform.<ref name="mnwarburg">{{Cite web |last=Whithouse |first=Michael |date=May 1989 |title=Paul Warburg's Crusade to Establish a Central Bank in the United States |url=https://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/89-05/reg895d.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516102112/http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/89-05/reg895d.cfm |archive-date=May 16, 2008 |access-date=August 29, 2011 |publisher=The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis}}</ref> The National Monetary Commission returned with recommendations which were repeatedly rejected by Congress. A revision crafted during a secret meeting on [[Jekyll Island]] by Senator Aldrich and representatives of the nation's top finance and industrial groups later became the basis of the [[Federal Reserve Act]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=For years members of the Jekyll Island Club would recount the story of the secret meeting and by the 1930s the narrative was considered a club tradition |url=http://www.jekyllislandhistory.com/federalreserve.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611221413/http://www.jekyllislandhistory.com/federalreserve.shtml |archive-date=June 11, 2012 |access-date=April 30, 2012 |publisher=Jekyllislandhistory.com}}; {{Cite web |title=Papers of Frank A.Vanderlip "I wish I could sit down with you and half a dozen others in the sort of conference that created the Federal Reserve Act" |url=http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/chfrs/record.php?id=5653 |access-date=April 30, 2012 |format=PDF}}</ref> The House voted on December 22, 1913, with 298 voting yes to 60 voting no. The Senate voted 43–25 on December 23, 1913.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 – A Legislative History |url=http://www.llsdc.org/FRA-LH |access-date=April 30, 2012 |publisher=Llsdc.org}}</ref> President [[Woodrow Wilson]] signed the bill later that day.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 24, 1913 |title=Affixes His Signature at 6:02&nbsp;pm, Using Four Gold Pens. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/12/24/100414417.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2012}}</ref>