Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve System (Fed) Is the Central Bank of the United States. It is the banker's bank.

In 1913, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act “to provide for the establishment of Federal reserve banks, to furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial paper, to establish a more effective supervision of banking in the United States, and for other purposes.”

The purpose of the Federal Reserve is to carry out the mandate of Congress by:

1) conducting the nation's monetary policy to achieve maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long term interest rates

2) regulating banking institutions to insure the safety and soundness of the nation's financial system and to protect consumers credit rights.

3) maintain a stable financial system and stable markets

4) provide financial services to banks, the U. S. Government, and foreign banking systems and to facilitate the nation's payment systems.

Between 1790 and the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, there were hundreds of local and around two dozen (depending on who counts them) national financial panics in the United States.

Painful panics occurred in 1893 and 1907, but it was the speculation of the 1920s that caused the most destructive panic, the 'crash' of 1929.

Other Major events include:

William Duer Panic, 1792 Crisis of , 1837 Crisis of, 1857 Post-Civil War Crisis 1865-69 Crisis of 1793 Grant's Last Panic, 1884 Grover Cleveland 1893-95 Northern Pacific, 1901 The Rich Man's Panic, 1907 World War I, 1914 Great Crash, 1929 Kennedy Slide, 1962