The Federal Reserve has been in the news a lot these days as people keep an eye on whether the nation?'s central bank is about to raise interest rates. It seems like it?'s been a permanent part of America, but in terms of history, the Fed is relatively new.
For nearly a century, the U.S was alone among developed nations, refusing to consider any central or organizing agency in its financial system.
That changed in 1913 when Congress enacted a controversial law that gave America its first central bank. In his new book, America's Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve, former Wall Street Journal reporter Roger Lowenstein looks at the history of the Fed and how many of the issues surrounding it are still in play today.