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1913

Federal Reserve Act

Wilson signs the act on 23 December. A public central bank, after the 1907 scramble.

Twenty-dollar Federal Reserve note, series of 1914.
Twenty-dollar Federal Reserve note, series of 1914. The Act is 23 December 1913. The note is not dated 1913.Public domain.

On 23 December 1913 Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act. It created regional Federal Reserve Banks and a federal board. Member banks could discount commercial paper and receive Reserve notes.

The public brief was elastic currency and a lender of last resort, so a scramble like 1907 would not depend on one private rescue. This statute is not the 1914 suspension of gold convertibility.

Panic of 1907 and the Fed →