The ABC of the Federal Reserve System: Why the Federal Reserve System Was Called Into Being, the Main Features of Its Organization, and How It Works

Renowned economist Edwin Kemmerer narrates the inception and history of the Federal Reserve System, while outlining its functions and purposes in the economy of the United States.

The Federal Reserve was conceived as an antidote to a succession of financial panics in the late 19th and early 20th century. The great panic of 1907 was, for government legislators weary of the chaos and joblessness brought by such volatility, the final straw. For a time J. P. Morgan, a banking magnate, aggressive...