Changes

[[Image:Federal Reserve.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC.]]

[[Image:Federal Reserve.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC.]]

The '''Federal Reserve''' (also known as '''The Fed''') is a central banking system that controls the monetary system of the [[United States]].  

The '''Federal Reserve''' (also known as '''The Fed''') is a central banking system that controls the monetary system of the [[United States]].  

It was established by the Federal Reserve Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by [[President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1913.  "... the Board is a federal government agency consisting of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate."<ref> [http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed46.html Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System] - Fedpoints -  Federal Reserve Bank of New York</ref> The Federal Reserve is a system of private banks, twelve of which are designated as Federal Reserve Banks and have some features of public federal agencies. The Federal Reserve is headed by a Board of Governors and a Chairman. The current Chairman is [[Ben Bernanke]], a Republican appointed by President [[George W. Bush]]; his predecessor was [[Alan Greenspan]], a Republican appointed by President [[Ronald Reagan]].  

It was established by the Federal Reserve Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by [[President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] in 1913.  "... the Board is a federal government agency consisting of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate."<ref>[http://www.ny.frb.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed46.html Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System] - Fedpoints -  Federal Reserve Bank of New York</ref> The Federal Reserve is a system of private banks, twelve of which are designated as Federal Reserve Banks and have some features of public federal agencies. The Federal Reserve is headed by a Board of Governors and a Chairman. The current Chairman is [[Ben Bernanke]], a Republican appointed by President [[George W. Bush]]; his predecessor was [[Alan Greenspan]], a Republican appointed by President [[Ronald Reagan]].  

One of the main jobs of the Federal Reserve is to control [[inflation]] by adjusting the supply of money in the economy, while at the same time maintain the stability of the financial system and promote economic growth. This is done by buying and selling government bonds in order to influence banks' cash supply (called "open market operations"), setting the amount of money that banks must keep in reserve, and setting the interest rates for money it lends to banks (the Fed's lending facility is called the "discount window").<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_3.pdf</ref> These three major operations are the basis of [[monetary policy]], and are performed by the Fed to target a specific [[Federal Funds Rate]] that it believes will be low enough to ensure available credit and stimulate the economy, but high enough to prevent inflation. The Fed also has the responsibility of supervising and regulating banking institutions.<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/mission/default.htm</ref>

One of the main jobs of the Federal Reserve is to control [[inflation]] by adjusting the supply of money in the economy, while at the same time maintain the stability of the financial system and promote economic growth. This is done by buying and selling government bonds in order to influence banks' cash supply (called "open market operations"), setting the amount of money that banks must keep in reserve, and setting the interest rates for money it lends to banks (the Fed's lending facility is called the "discount window").<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_3.pdf</ref> These three major operations are the basis of [[monetary policy]], and are performed by the Fed to target a specific [[Federal Funds Rate]] that it believes will be low enough to ensure available credit and stimulate the economy, but high enough to prevent inflation. The Fed also has the responsibility of supervising and regulating banking institutions.<ref>http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/mission/default.htm</ref>

* Hetzel, Robert L. ''The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve: A History'' (2008) from 1913 to 2007;  [http://www.amazon.com/Monetary-Policy-Federal-Reserve-Macroeconomic/dp/0521881323/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212812672&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]

* Hetzel, Robert L. ''The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve: A History'' (2008) from 1913 to 2007;  [http://www.amazon.com/Monetary-Policy-Federal-Reserve-Macroeconomic/dp/0521881323/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212812672&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]

* Kubik, Paul J. , "Federal Reserve Policy during the Great Depression: The Impact of Interwar Attitudes regarding Consumption and Consumer Credit." ''Journal of Economic Issues'' . 30#3. 1996. pp 829+.  

* Kubik, Paul J. , "Federal Reserve Policy during the Great Depression: The Impact of Interwar Attitudes regarding Consumption and Consumer Credit." ''Journal of Economic Issues'' . 30#3. 1996. pp 829+.  

* Link, Arthur. ''Wilson: The New Freedom'' (1956) pp 199-240.

* Link, Arthur. ''Wilson: The New Freedom'' (1956) pp 199–240.

* Livingston, James. ''Origins of the Federal Reserve System: Money, Class, and Corporate Capitalism, 1890-1913'' (1986), Marxist approach to 1913 policy

* Livingston, James. ''Origins of the Federal Reserve System: Money, Class, and Corporate Capitalism, 1890-1913'' (1986), Marxist approach to 1913 policy

* Mayhew, Anne. "Ideology and the Great Depression: Monetary History Rewritten." ''Journal of Economic Issues'' 17 (June 1983): 353-60.  

* Mayhew, Anne. "Ideology and the Great Depression: Monetary History Rewritten." ''Journal of Economic Issues'' 17 (June 1983): 353-60.  

* Meltzer, Allan H. ''A History of the Federal Reserve, Volume 1: 1913-1951'' (2004) the standard scholarly history [http://www.amazon.com/History-Federal-Reserve-1913-1951/dp/0226520005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212812672&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

* Meltzer, Allan H. ''A History of the Federal Reserve, Volume 1: 1913-1951'' (2004) the standard scholarly history [http://www.amazon.com/History-Federal-Reserve-1913-1951/dp/0226520005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212812672&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

* Roberts, Priscilla.  "'Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?' The Federal Reserve System's Founding Fathers and Allied Finances in the First World War", ''Business History Review'' (1998) 72: 585-603

* Roberts, Priscilla.  "'Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?' The Federal Reserve System's Founding Fathers and Allied Finances in the First World War", ''Business History Review'' (1998) 72: 585-603

* Romer, Christina D. and David H. Romer. ''Choosing the Federal Reserve Chair: Lessons from History''. ''The Journal of Economic Perspectives,'' Vol. 18, No. 1. (2004), pp. 129-162. ([http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0895-3309%282004%2918%3A1%3C129%3ACTFRCL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I jstor])

* Romer, Christina D. and David H. Romer. ''Choosing the Federal Reserve Chair: Lessons from History''. ''The Journal of Economic Perspectives,'' Vol. 18, No. 1. (2004), pp.&nbsp;129–162. ([http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0895-3309%282004%2918%3A1%3C129%3ACTFRCL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I jstor])

* Schull, Bernard. "The Fourth Branch: The Federal Reserve's Unlikely Rise to Power and Influence" (2005) ISBN 1-56720-624-7  [http://www.questia.com/read/113203394?title=The%20Fourth%20Branch%3a%20%20The%20Federal%20Reserve's%20Unlikely%20Rise%20to%20Power%20and%20Influence online edition]

* Schull, Bernard. "The Fourth Branch: The Federal Reserve's Unlikely Rise to Power and Influence" (2005) ISBN 1-56720-624-7  [http://www.questia.com/read/113203394?title=The%20Fourth%20Branch%3a%20%20The%20Federal%20Reserve's%20Unlikely%20Rise%20to%20Power%20and%20Influence online edition]

* Steindl, Frank G. ''Monetary Interpretations of the Great Depression.'' (1995).

* Steindl, Frank G. ''Monetary Interpretations of the Great Depression.'' (1995).

* Wueschner; Silvano A. ''Charting Twentieth-Century Monetary Policy: Herbert Hoover and Benjamin Strong, 1917-1927''  (1999)

* Wueschner; Silvano A. ''Charting Twentieth-Century Monetary Policy: Herbert Hoover and Benjamin Strong, 1917-1927''  (1999)

==References==  

==References==

<references/>

<references/>

==External Links==

==External links==

*[http://www.federalreserve.gov/ Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System]

*[http://www.federalreserve.gov/ Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System]

[[category:Finance]]

[[Category:Finance]]

[[category:Progressive Era]]

[[Category:Progressive Era]]

[[category:United States History]]

[[Category:United States History]]

[[category:Economic History]]

[[Category:Economic History]]