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Bank of the United States
This first national bank of the US was chartered by Congress and signed into existence by George Washington. Although, it soon closed its doors in 1811 due to opposition from state banks due to the power the national bank held. -
Second Bank of the United States
This national bank was set up in order to help with the debt left by the War of 1812, but it lacked the power in order to be successful. When Jackson, who opposed the Second Bank, became president, he made no effort to recharter it and let the bank die. -
Pre-Civil War Currency
Before the Civil War and the creation of a national currency, almost each bank had a unique currency. This meant that over 8,000 currencies were in circulation at the time. This of course, caused many problems, including too large of a money supply and mass counterfeiting. During the Civil War, the North began issuing "greenbacks," while the South began issuing the "bluebacks" as currency. -
The National Banking Act of 1863
This act created a system of banks that were chartered through federal power instead of state. It helped finance the Civil War and unify currency throughout the nation. -
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913
This act established a central banking system for the United States and gave it the right to issue out the US Dollar. It also required that a board of governors, selected by the president, would have control over the Federal Reserve. -
The Great Depression
During the Great Depression, many banks fell flat, closing their doors, which left many people without money. When this happened FDR declared a "bank holiday" that closed all banks until they could prove that they were financially stable. FDR went further and established the FDIC to protect the people's money. -
The Glass-Steagall Banking Act
This act was created in response to the failure of almost 5,000 banks. It created a barrier between commercial and investment banks. They were no longer allowed to deal in each other's business or have any common link (ownership or management). -
The 70s
During the 70s the US was bombarded by inflation, unemployment, decreased productivity, along with, rising energy prices and international competion. With this came a rise in the national deficit.
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2009/1109reuss.html -
The 1982 Economic Crisis
Reagan planned to help stimulate the economy by cutting tax rates dramatically. But when this happened, inflation rose so the Federal Reserve was forced to increase interest rates. This caused recession and 9 million were without jobs. In order to solve this, Reagan was urged to raise taxes, this helped ease inflation and increased his popularity. -
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
This act, also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, required financial institutions to disclose their information sharing practices to customers or potential customers. It also required them to protect these customers' data.
