History of the Federal Reserve System (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles This article is about the history of the United States Federal Reserve System from its creation to the present.The Federal Reserve System is the third central banking system in the United States' history. The First Bank of the United States (1791-1811) and the Second Bank of the United States (1816-1836) each had 20-year charters, and both issued currency, made commercial loans, accepted deposits, purchased securities, had multiple branches, and acted as fiscal agents for the U.S. Treasury. In both banks the Federal Government was required to purchase 20% of the bank's capital stock and appoint 20% of the directors. Thus majority control was in the hands of private investors who purchased the rest of the stock. The banks were opposed by state-chartered banks, who saw them as very large competitors, and by many who understood them to be banking cartels which compelled to them servitude of the common man.