Federal Reserve System

Mark Toma

Economic History
Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics

Article

The historical origins of the Federal Reserve System can be traced to chronic currency problems in the nineteenth century. In response to the Panic of 1907, Congress created the National Monetary Commission charged with the mission of reforming the currency system. It soon became clear that some type of central banking institution would emerge from the Commissions deliberations, albeit one operating within the context of a gold standard. This article focuses on the key questions: What type of central bank? Would it be a centralized one, or a populist, decentralized one?