The late Carl H. Moore wrote several books about economic history. He lived in San Antonio, Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface xiii

1. The Climax of a Long Struggle

Authorship of the Act

First United States Bank

Problems Persisted

Check Collection a Problem

A Search for Solutions

Democrats Come to Power

Ideas Sharply Divided

A Quick Summary of the Act

Federal Advisory Council

2. Getting Organized

How Many Fed Banks?

Subscribing Capital Stock

Hurry Up!

Preliminary Organization Committee

Surveying Opinions

Local Issues Important

Decision Time

Everyone Happy? No Way!

Naming the Federal Reserve Board

Politics Again

War Breaks Out

Fed Bank Directors

Open the Banks!

The "League"

3. Open for Business (1914-1919)

Who's in Charge?

Changes in District Boundaries

How Can We Make A Profit?

A Wartime Atmosphere

Gold Settlement Fund

A New Currency-Federal Reserve Notes

Bank Reserves

Setting the Discount Rate

A Discount Policy

Check Clearing

Par Clearance of Checks

World War I and the Fed

United States Declares War

What Role for Gold?

A Glance into the Future

Governors' Conference

Revisions of the Act Needed

A New Task for the Fed

Leadership in the Early Years

Does the Public Like the Fed?

4. A Struggle for Leadership (1920-1929)

Where Was the Fed?

The Phelan Act

No Firm Policy

Some Positive Facts

Speculation on the Rise

Internal Problems at the Fed

Politics Erupts

A Change in Mood

A Problem with Gold

Storage of Gold

Beginning of Open Market Operations

Markets Fall Apart

A Time for Action

"Tools" of the Fed

Leadership at the Fed

Day-to-Day Operations at Fed Banks

What about Par Banks?

Operations during the Decade of the 1920s

Legislation

5. A Decade of Change (1930-1939)

Where Was the Fed?

Looking Back

How to Handle a Run on Your Bank

What Action Should the Fed Have Taken?

Roosevelt Elected President

The Crisis Had Been Building

A New Face at the Fed 84

The Banking Act of 1933

Reserves for Feds Suspended

The Banking Act of 1935

What Fed Policy Now ?

Fed Gets a New Home

Meanwhile in the Back Rooms of the Feds

6. World War II and Its Aftermath (1941-1950)

What Role for the Fed?

Credit Controls

Peace Arrives

Now Let's Deal with Inflation

A Change of Presidents

Unexpected Support for the Fed

Fed Makes a Formal Policy Statement

Another Side to the Fed

Federal Reserve Bulletin Born

Don't Forecast!

How Much Does It Cost?

Work Increases at Fed Banks

7. The Fed Comes into Its Own (1950-1959)

What Was the Accord?

Enter Congressman Partman

Refining "Independence"

Power of the Fed Recognized

Challenges within the System

Chairman Martin and Washington Politics

Behind the Scenes at FOMC

The "Desk"

Operational Studies in the System

What to Do with All Those Checks

Counting All That Money

Changing Role of the Discount Window

Looking Back

8. The Public Discovers the Fed (1960-1969)

The Fed's Role

Politics as Usual Again

Fed's Independence Challenged Again

Problems with Currency

Greater Problems with Coin

News on the International Front

A Substitute for Gold?

9. The Soaring Seventies (1970-1979)

A New Style of Leadership at the Fed

Difficult Economic Problems

Congress Wants to Know NOW

Evasive Action by the Fed

Let the Sunshine In?

How about a GAO Audit?

Chairman Burns Calls in the Reserves

Leadership Changes Again

Another First at the Board

Increasing Importance of International Factors

The Consumer Demands Attention

Bank Operations Changing Too

Changes Outside the Fed 148

Remote Disbursements a Problem

What Can the Fed Do?

More Buildings Needed

10. Another Banking Evolution (1980-1989)

Welcome, Paul Volcker

A "Warm" Welcome for the New Chairman

Inflation Slowed

Major Changes for the Fed and the Banking Industry

Changes Welcomed by Consumers

Impact on the Fed

The Fed Adjusts

Daylight Overdrafts

Remote Disbursements-A New Check Collection Problem

Consumers and the Fed

International Developments

Legislation

Volcker Leaves the Fed

A Look Back

Appendixes

Glossary

Copy of Original Federal Reserve Act

Commercial Banks Certifying to the Organization of Each Federal Reserve Bank

Governors and Directors of Each Federal Reserve Bank, 1914

Design of the First Federal Reserve Notes

Federal Reserve Banks and Branches, 1989

Map o Federal Reserve Districts, 1989

Members of the Federal Reserve Board and the Board of Governors with Federal Reserve District of Residence and Term of Service

Board of Governors and Official Staff, 1989

Federal Open Market Committee, 1989

Board of Governors Advisory Councils, 1989

Principal Officers at Federal Reserve Banks, 1914-1989

Principal Officers at Federal Reserve Banks and Branches, March 1989

Number of Officers and Employees at Each Federal Reserve Bank, 1915-1988

Number of Employees at Federal Reserve Board and the Board of Governors by Selected Years

Sample of a Directive to the Manager of the Trading Desk From the Federal Open Market Committee

Discount Rate at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 1914-1989

United States Marketable Securities and Related Data, 1915-1988

Commercial Bank Suspensions, 1892-1988

Number of Commercial Banks in U.S., Total Assets, Number of Banks Member of the Federal Reserve System and Related Data, 1915-1988

Gold: World Production and Stock Held by United States, 1914-1986

United States Federal Debt, 1916-1987

Description of Federal Reserve Districts, 1917

Income and Expenses of Each Federal Reserve Bank, 1914-1988

Statement of Condition as of the End of the Year for Each Federal Reserve Bank, 1914, 1920,1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1988

Bibliography
Index