Efficient Macro Concept: U.S. Monetary, Industrial, and Foreign Exchange Policies

The United States has had a tumultuous monetary and banking history. The bitter Bank War during Andrew Jackson’s presidency meant that the country never developed a central bank in the 1800s. The pre–Civil War monetary standard was deflationary until the fortuitous California gold discovery. Political turmoil erupted later in the nineteenth century over whether the government should freely coin silver. Meanwhile, Congress imposed a banking system that virtually drove bank reserves into stoc...