Skip top navigation
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>)

The Federal Reserve sets U.S. monetary policy to promote maximum employment and stable prices in the U.S. economy.


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.
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.
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
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
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
Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act

Commonly called Humphrey-Hawkins, the 1978 Act set new goals for the nation’s economic policymakers

Fed Chairman&nbsp;Arthur Burns (left) with President Jimmy Carter, future Fed Chairman G.&nbsp;William Miller, and Miller's wife&nbsp;Ariadna&nbsp;Miller&nbsp;
Federal Reserve Reform Act

This 1977 law was instrumental in shaping the current Fed

Close-up of a&nbsp;"Whip Inflation Now"&nbsp;[WIN] button,&nbsp;President Ford's symbol of the fight against inflation.
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.
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
Treasury-Fed Accord

The 1951 agreement that laid the foundation for the modern Federal Reserve

President Harry Truman Signs Employment Act of 1946
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.
Banking Act of 1935

This legislation restructured the Fed in both cosmetic and consequential ways

President Roosevelt signs the Gold Reserve Act
Gold Reserve Act

The 1934 law was the culmination of FDR’s controversial gold program