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The Federal Reserve Act, The U.s. Financial System

Decent Essays

Prior to the institution of the Federal Reserve Act, the U.S. financial system’s basic structure was determined by the National Banking Acts of 1863, 1864, and 1865 (Broz, 1999). The purpose of the legislation was to provide a uniform national currency and to raise revenue for the federal government during wartime (Broz, 1999). While effective in its main purposes, it was flawed in the fact that the increase of available currency had little to no effect on consumer demand which led to large seasonal swings in interest rates and banking panics (Friedman & Schwartz, 168-169). In an attempt to rectify the shortcomings of the National Banking System, government turned to the New York Clearinghouse Association, purportedly known as the first central bank. Originally responsible for the settlement of payments between financial institutions, it was chosen because it was the only source at the time that had the ability to provide funds during high demand periods through a discount window or an open market operation (Broz, 1999). In the end, it failed to maintain an adequate amount of liquid reserves to counteract the monetary crisis‘s that ensued during the agricultural harvest cycles, when currency demands accelerated. In response to the most detrimental Panics of 1873, 1893, and 1907, a faction of wealthy bankers created the concept of The Federal Reserve, an entity that would serve as the central banking system. After prior failed attempts to enact the FRB in to law, wealthy

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