Before the Fed

1982 photograph of Monticello entry hall with facing busts of Jefferson and Hamilton

Before the Fed: The Historical Precedents of the Federal Reserve System

U.S. monetary and banking policy before the creation of the Fed

The old clubhouse, Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Meeting at Jekyll Island

The 1910 gathering that laid the Fed's foundations

Crowd on Wall Street during the Panic of 1907.

Panic of 1907

The story of the crash that inspired monetary reform

Drawing titled 'The recent panic - scene in the New York Stock Exchange on the morning of Friday, May 5th'

Banking Panics of the Gilded Age

The late 19th century was beset by panics

U.S. "greenback" bill from the Civil War

National Bank Acts

The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 marked an important moment in the development of the U.S. banking system.

This 1840s lithograph titled 'Custom House, late U.S. Bank" shows the building that housed the Second Bank.

Second Bank of the U.S.

The nation made its second attempt at creating a central bank in 1816

This 1830s painting titled 'Girard's Bank, late the Bank of the United States, in Third Street, Philadelphia' shows the building that housed the First Bank.

First Bank of the U.S.

Hamilton's grand experiment in central banking began in 1791