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Creation of the US Mint
When the framers of the U.S. Constitution created a new government for their untried Republic, they realized the critical need for a respected monetary system. Soon after the Constitution's ratification, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton personally prepared plans for a national Mint. On April 2, 1792, Congress passed The Coinage Act, which created the Mint and authorized construction of a Mint building in the nation's capitol, Philadelphia. This was the first federal building erected -
Creation of the Dollar
In 1853, the weights of U.S. silver coins (except, interestingly, the dollar itself, which was rarely used) were reduced. This had the effect of placing the nation effectively (although not officially) on the gold standard. The retained weight in the dollar coin was a nod to bimetallism, although it had the effect of further driving the silver dollar coin from commerce. Foreign coins, including the Spanish dollar, were also widely used as legal tender until 1857. -
Civil War
The American Civil War, also known as the War between the States or simply the Civil War (see naming), was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 between the United States (the "Union" or the "North") and several Southern slave states that had declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America (the "Confederacy" or the "South"). The war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, and, after four years of bloody combat (mostly in the South), the Confederacy was defeated, sl -
Federal Reserve Act
The 1913 U.S. legislation that created the current Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve Act intended to establish a form of economic stability through the introduction of the Central Bank, which would be in charge of monetary policy, into the United States. The Federal Reserve Act is perhaps one of the most influential laws concerning the U.S. financial system. -
Stock Market Crash: Wall Street Crash
By the end of the weekend of November 11, the index stood at 228, a cumulative drop of 40 percent from the September high. The markets rallied in succeeding months but it would be a false recovery that led unsuspecting investors into further losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average would lose 89% of its value before finally bottoming out in July 1932. The crash was followed by the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis of modern times that plagued the stock market and Wall Street throughout -
FDIC
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation operating as an independent agency created by the Banking Act of 1933. -
In God We Trust
"In God we trust " was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956 as an alternative or replacement to the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum, adopted when the Great Seal of the United States was created and adopted in 1782 -
United States First National Bank
The President, Directors and Company, of the Bank of the United States, commonly known as the First Bank of the United States, was a central bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress on February 25, 1791. -
Goverment Bailout: The Savings and Loan Bailout of 1989
America's savings and loan institutions (S&Ls), originally created to provide mortgage loans to prospective homeowners, were a nationwide group of conservative, fiscally responsible lenders that helped spur the housing boom that followed the end of World War II. The S&Ls usually paid a slightly higher interest rate on deposits than banks and offered premiums and gifts to attract depositor dollars away from banks, the more traditional repositories of cash. -
50 State Quaters Program Act
The 50 State Quarters Program Act began in 1999 and ran through 2008, with five new quarters released every year. The quarters were released in the order that the states joined the union. Each quarter features a different state design on the back.
