![Bernie Berns hands paper through the Credit window on the first floor of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 1967 (via <a href="https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/archival-collection/federal-reserve-bank-st-louis-centennial-5182/credit-discount-window-st-louis-fed-photograph-527398">FRASER</a>)](/-/media/images/monetary-policy_720x450.jpg)
The Federal Reserve sets U.S. monetary policy to promote maximum employment and stable prices in the U.S. economy.
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Federal Funds Rate
The primary way the Federal Reserve implements monetary policy is by targeting the federal funds rate
![President Harry Truman meets with George Marshall, Economic Cooperation Administration chief Paul Hoffman, and ECA roving ambassador W. Averell Harriman to discuss the Marshall Plan.](/-/media/images/wwii_to_treasury_accord_1_720x450.jpg)
WWII and After
The Fed pegged interest rates at a low level during WWII and enforced the peg after the war ended
![A sign advertising refinancing services is posted in a vacant lot April 29, 2008, in Stockton, California.](/-/media/images/subprime_mortgage_crisis_720x450.jpg)
Subprime Mortgage Crisis
The 2007-10 crisis stemmed in part from an expansion of mortgages to high-risk borrowers
![Chairman Volcker speaks at a meeting of administration officials and congressional leaders in 1980](/-/media/images/monetary_control_act_1980_1_720x450.jpg)
Monetary Control Act
The 1980 Act was one of the most important laws to affect the Fed in its 100-year history
![Paul Volcker prior to appearing on the Senate Banking Committee Panel in 1979](/-/media/images/anti_inflation_measures_720x450.jpg)
Fed’s Anti-Inflation Actions
In 1979, Fed Chairman Paul Volcker announced new anti-inflation measures
![Senator Muriel Humphrey shakes hands with President Jimmy Carter after the signing of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act](/-/media/images/humphrey_hawkins_act_720x450.jpg)
Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act
Commonly called Humphrey-Hawkins, the 1978 Act set new goals for the nation’s economic policymakers
![Fed Chairman Arthur Burns (left) with President Jimmy Carter, future Fed Chairman G. William Miller, and Miller's wife Ariadna Miller ](/-/media/images/fed_reform_act_720x450.jpg)
Federal Reserve Reform Act
This 1977 law was instrumental in shaping the current Fed
![Close-up of a "Whip Inflation Now" [WIN] button, President Ford's symbol of the fight against inflation.](/-/media/images/great_inflation_1_720x450.jpg)
Great Inflation
The defining macroeconomic period of the second half of the 20th century lasted from 1965 to 1982
![U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. speaks at the conference which established the International Monetary Fund.](/-/media/images/bretton_woods_launched_720x450.jpg)
Bretton Woods Launched
The international currency system became operational in 1958
![William McChesney Martin Jr. is sworn in as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors](/-/media/images/treasury_fed_accord_720x450.jpg)
Treasury-Fed Accord
The 1951 agreement that laid the foundation for the modern Federal Reserve
![President Harry Truman Signs Employment Act of 1946](/-/media/images/employment_act_720x450.jpg)
Employment Act
President Truman signed the Act in 1946 in the aftermath of WWII
![President Roosevelt chats with various politicians and administration officials as he signs the Banking Act of 1935.](/-/media/images/banking_act_1935_720x450.jpg)
Banking Act of 1935
This legislation restructured the Fed in both cosmetic and consequential ways
![President Roosevelt signs the Gold Reserve Act](/-/media/images/gold_reserve_act_1_720x450.jpg)
Gold Reserve Act
The 1934 law was the culmination of FDR’s controversial gold program