The Fed in Wartime

Liberty Loan poster, 1917 (Image courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Archives)

The Fed in Wartime

World War I and World War II strongly shaped Fed policy and actions.

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

This photo was captioned "A business man of Japanese ancestry confers with a representative of the Federal Reserve Bank at Wartime Civil Control Administration station to arrange disposition of his financial affairs prior to evacuation." National Archives and Records Administration Photograph No. <a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/536054">210-G-A79</a>, Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1945; Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority, 1941-1989.

The Federal Reserve's Interactions with Japanese Americans during WWII

As part of the war effort, the Fed was assigned a duty well outside of its normal activities.

War bond rally to buy bonds, February 1944.

WWII and Its Aftermath

Monetary policy fundamentally changed during the period of 1941 to 1951

U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall and British Admiral Sir Dudley Pound talk at luncheon held for British and American naval chiefs at the Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C., January 17, 1942

The Fed's Role During WWII

The Federal Reserve supported the war effort in several ways

World War I poster depicting Lady Liberty on the telephone reads "Hello! This is liberty speaking - billions of dollars are needed and needed now"

Liberty Bonds

The Treasury and the Fed worked together to finance World War I

Liberty Loan poster showing a panoramic view of the U.S. Treasury Building from the southeast reads "Lend your money to your government, Buy a United States government bond, second Liberty Loan of 1917, U.S. Treasury will pay you interest every six months."

Fed's Role During WWI

World War I was the first test of the nation's new central bank