For release on delivery
4:30 p.m. EDT
March 28, 2017
America's Central Bank: The History and Structure of the Federal Reserve
Remarks by
Jerome H. Powell
Member
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
at the
West Virginia University College of Business and Economics
Distinguished Speaker Series
Morgantown, West Virginia
March 28, 2017
I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak at West Virginia University.
Thanks to Brian Cushing for inviting me here today.1
Gathered in this part of West Virginia, we are located in the Fifth Federal Reserve
District, which stretches down from here to South Carolina and east to the Atlantic Ocean
(figure 1). More than 100 years ago, the organizers of the Federal Reserve System
divided the country into 12 of these Districts, each with its own Federal Reserve Bank.
Together, the Board of Governors in Washington and the 12 Reserve Banks are the key
elements of the Federal Reserve System.
Today I will discuss how the Federal Reserve came to have this unique structure.
The Fed's organization reflects a long-standing desire in American history to ensure that
power over our nation's monetary policy and financial system is not concentrated in a
few hands, whether in Washington or in high finance or in any single group or
constituency. Rather, Americans have long desired that decisions about these matters be
influenced by a diverse set of voices from all parts of the country and the economy. The
structure of the Federal Reserve was designed to achieve this broad representation and
promote a stronger financial system to build resiliency against the sort of periodic
financial crises that had repeatedly damaged the country in the 19th and early 20th
centuries. This structure was forged from compromise; the result of that compromise was
a vitally needed central bank whose decisions take into account a broad range of
perspectives.
- 2 -
Before the Federal Reserve
The question of how to structure our nation's financial system arose in the early
years of the republic. In 1791, Congress created an institution known as the Bank of the
United States, often considered a forerunner of the Federal Reserve. The Bank was
created in part to assist the federal government in its financial transactions, a typical
responsibility of central banks at that time. It was also designed to help America's
financial system meet the needs of a growing economy--the same purpose behind the
founding of the Federal Reserve more than 100 years later. The most famous proponent
of the Bank was Alexander Hamilton, who has recently achieved the central banker's
dream of being the subject of a hit Broadway musical (figure 2).
Congress gave the Bank of the United States unique powers--its notes were
accepted for making payments to the federal government and it was the only bank able to
branch across state lines (figure 3). The Bank could affect the ebb and flow of credit
around the country.2 People in different regions of the country came to have distinct
views about the Bank. Borrowers in the western areas--in those times, the West meant
places like Ohio--desired cheap and abundant loans but were also wary of lenders. These
borrowers grew opposed to the power of the Bank in the credit market. Northern
business interests favored the Bank's contribution to the country's industrial
development, but at times disagreed with actions taken by the Bank to constrain credit.
Southern agriculturalists viewed the Bank with suspicion but supported its occasional
- 3 -
actions to constrain credit to non-agricultural businesses.3 The Bank's private ownership,
intended to give it independence from government control, was a source of unpopularity.
Ultimately, these disagreements undermined the Bank's political support. After 20 years,
Congress chose not to renew the Bank's charter. A second Bank of the United States met
a similar fate in 1836 when President Andrew Jackson vetoed a bill to extend its life
(figure 4).
These two short-lived experiments illustrate a theme in American history--of
Americans from different regions holding distinct views about the structure and
development of the financial system. People in the newer western parts of the country
saw themselves as starved of access to credit and viewed higher interest rates in their
areas as reflecting the scarcity of funds. Regional interest rate differentials persisted until
around the time of World War I and helped shape the attitudes of Americans living in
western areas toward the nation's financial system.4
These regional differences gave rise to a major political movement in the latter
part of the 19th century, as western farm borrowers increasingly demanded a reform of
the U.S. monetary system. Their chief complaints included the high interest rates they
faced as well as the burdens placed on them by deflation that increased the real value of
their debts. Indeed, the economy experienced 1 to 2 percent deflation annually in the
years leading up to the 1890s. The country's currency was linked to gold, and deflation
reflected the growing scarcity of gold relative to the amount of economic activity. The
- 4 -
"free silver" movement grew in response to these economic forces. Its most famous
advocate, William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1896, sought
an increase in the money supply--by the coining of silver in addition to gold--as a
solution to reversing this deflation (figure 5).5
The Founding of the Fed
By the beginning of the 20th century, the debate about monetary policy and the
nation's financial system had been going on for over a century. Increasingly, the
shortcomings of the existing system were causing too much harm to ignore. Like a
drumbeat, the country experienced one serious financial crisis after another, with major
crises in 1839, 1857, 1873, 1893, and finally in 1907.6 These panics paralyzed the
financial system and led to deep and extended contractions in the economy.
These episodes exposed the weakness of our 19th century financial system, which
repeatedly failed to supply the money and credit needed to meet the economy's demands.
The financial system came under severe stress when the demand for liquidity surged.7 A
5
For a sense of the regionalism of this debate, believe it or not, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been
interpreted as an allegory for 19th century regional monetary problems, though there is little evidence about
the intentions of its author, L. Frank Baum, in conveying this allegory. Dorothy was from Kansas, a farm
state, but after a cyclone, she found herself in a world dominated by gold, with a yellow brick road and the
Land of Oz--the abbreviation for an ounce. The story has four witches--from the West, East, North, and
South. Remember that the Wicked Witch of the West ultimately met her demise when she melted on
contact with water, a symbol for the end of a drought that contributed to the economic hardships of western
farmers. But the most powerful change was brought about by Dorothy's shoes, which were originally
owned by the Wicked Witch of the East. Importantly, these shoes were silver in the original book, not red
as in the movie, symbolizing the power of bimetallism as a solution to western problems. See Hugh
Rockoff (1990), "The 'Wizard of Oz' as a Monetary Allegory," Journal of Political Economy, vol. 98
(August), pp. 739-60.
6
See Andrew J. Jalil (2015), "A New History of Banking Panics in the United States, 1825-1929:
Construction and Implications," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, vol. 7 (July), pp.
295330.
7
Contemporaries blamed these crises on the seasonality in demand for currency and credit related to
planting and harvesting of crops in the spring and fall. Modern scholars place more weight on other
sources of financial tightness. Some point to poor harvests that depressed net exports, particularly failed
cotton harvests. Net exports were an important source of increases in the money supply in this period. In
the context of the gold standard, poor money supply growth in the United States triggered certain
expectations by international capital market participants that interest rates in the United States would rise
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financial system strained in such a manner is like dry kindling in danger of being exposed
to a spark. That spark could come from losses at a well-known bank, from a
disappointing harvest, or from mere rumors. In response, depositors or other investors
would seek the return of their funds, which would force financial institutions to sell assets
quickly to generate the necessary cash (figure 6). That liquidation could lead banks to cut
credit and force borrowers to repay debt sooner than expected.
Simply put, the monetary system did not meet the country's needs. It was a
system in crisis, boiling over repeatedly, harming the country.
Central banks are designed in part to help the financial system meet occasional
liquidity strains. When demands for liquidity rise, central banks can respond by
increasing the supply of money and thus adding liquidity to the system. Central banks
have a particularly important role in avoiding or mitigating extreme demands for liquidity
during financial crises. They do this by making loans to solvent financial institutions so
they can meet their liquidity demands and avoid forced sales of their assets. These ideas
about central banks' lending role were developed over the course of the 19th century but
not yet implemented in the United States, which at the time remained without a central
bank.8 By the beginning of the 20th century, the United States was behind the game.
relative to the rest of the world. As a result, interest rates on American commercial paper (a key rate
affected by international financial conditions) rose following poor harvests, stock and bond prices fell, and
deposits flowed out of the New York banking system. Industrial production decreased as well, with a lag.
This set of effects created tight financial conditions of the sort that could lead to financial crises. (See
Christopher Hanes and Paul W. Rhode (2013), "Harvests and Financial Crises in Gold Standard America,"
Journal of Economic History, vol. 73 (March), pp. 201-46.) Other scholars focus on business cycle
downturns as creating conditions favorable to financial crises, as depositors viewed the downturns as
affecting the solvency prospects of their banks, leading to withdrawals and panics. (See Gary Gorton
(1988), "Banking Panics and Business Cycles," Oxford Economic Papers, vol. 40 (December), pp. 751-81.)
8
See Walter Bagehot ([1873] 1897), Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons).
- 6 -
The final catalyst leading to the creation of the Federal Reserve was the severe
Panic of 1907, which caused inflation-adjusted gross national product to decline by 12
percent, more than two times the decline recorded during the Great Recession of 2007 to
2009.9 After the panic ended, there was a broad sense that reform was needed, although
consensus on the exact nature of that reform was elusive. Some called for an institution
similar in structure to the Bank of England at the time, with centralized power, owned
and operated by the banking system. Some wanted control to be lodged with the federal
government in Washington instead. Others proposed that power be distributed to
regional bodies with no central or coordinating board. Still others resisted any sort of
central bank.10 This debate reflected the many and diverse interests in the United States--
farmers, laborers, businessmen, small-town bankers, big-city bankers, technocrats,
populists, and more--that experienced different conditions across a large geographic
expanse.
The resulting institution was a compromise, created by the Federal Reserve Act in
not
1913. The Federal Reserve was structured to be entirely private in its ownership and
operation. It was also not structured to have a single headquarters in Washington or New
York with branches across the country, a structure that was proposed but failed to attract
enough political support. Instead, a more federated system was created, establishing the
Federal Reserve Board in Washington and the 12 Reserve Banks located around the
country.
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The Board was the part of the System intended to be most directly accountable to
the public (figure 7). The Board is an independent agency within the federal government,
and members of the Board--now called Governors--are appointed by the President and
confirmed by the Senate.11 Governors serve 14 year terms that expire at 2-year intervals
and are not linked to election cycles. The Federal Reserve Board is charged with general
oversight of the Reserve Banks.
The Reserve Banks combine both public and private elements in their makeup and
organization (figure 8). Like the Board of Governors, the Reserve Banks operate with the
public interest in mind. Commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve
System are required to purchase stock in their District's Reserve Bank.12 These shares
are nontransferable and yield only limited powers and benefits. Dividends are set by
federal law. The commercial bank shareholders elect two-thirds of the directors that
oversee the Reserve Banks; the Board in Washington appoints the remaining one-third.
Only three bankers can serve on a Reserve Bank's board of directors, and only one of
those can be from a large commercial bank in the District. The remaining six directors
represent the interests of the public. The Federal Reserve System benefits enormously
from the insights and support of the boards of directors of the Reserve Banks and their
11
As originally enacted, Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act required that the President, in nominating
Board members, "have due regard to a fair representation of the different commercial, industrial and
geographical divisions of the country" (see Federal Reserve Act, ch. 6, § 10, 38 Stat. 260 (1913), p. 12,
www.federalreservehistory.org/Media/Material/Event/10-58). In 1922, this representational requirement
was expanded to its current form, which provides, in Section 10(1), that the President "have due regard to a
fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests, and geographical
divisions of the country" (see Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. § 241 as amended by an act of June 3, 1922
(42 Stat. 620), paragraph on appointment and qualification of members,
https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/section%2010.htm). In addition, Section 10(1) provides that
no two members of the Board may be from the same Reserve Bank District.
12
All national banks chartered by the Comptroller of the Currency are required to be members of the
Federal Reserve System, and state-chartered banks may choose to become members.
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Branches. Directors include prominent private-sector leaders who represent a wide and
growing diversity of backgrounds and views about the economy.13
The federated structure of the Federal Reserve System earned the endorsement of
even the populist hero of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, William Jennings Bryan.
The compromise created an institution that could address the shortcomings of the
American financial system while assuring that control of the Federal Reserve would be
shared widely.14 The structure was different from those of the first and second Banks of
the United States, and from those of foreign central banks at the time. Congressman
Carter Glass, who worked to win passage of the Federal Reserve Act in Congress, called
the Federal Reserve's uniquely American design "an adventure in constructive finance"
(figure 9).15
The Modern Federal Reserve
In the System's early years, the decentralized structure gave the Reserve Banks
considerable scope to make independent decisions that applied to their own Districts,
which made it difficult to effect policy. For example, one Bank's purchases of securities
could be offset by another Bank's sale, given that the market for securities was national
13
Directors are chosen, according to Sections 4(11) and 4(12) of the Federal Reserve Act, "with due but not
exclusive consideration to the interests of agriculture, commerce, industry, services, labor and consumers"
(see Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. § 302 as amended by an act of Nov. 16, 1977 (91 Stat. 1388),
paragraphs on class B and class C directors, https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/section4.htm).
14
Authors Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell write, "Throughout much of American history there has been a
deep and abiding mistrust of bankers and a widespread fear of a 'money monopoly'--a fear that those
needing to borrow would be taken advantage of by those able to lend. Such questions had figured
prominently in the debates over the fates of the First Bank and Second Bank of the United States, and they
played a role in the popular support of free banking legislation. They had also led to the almost universal
adoption of usury ceilings on interest rates (typically 6 percent) that were more honored in name than
reality. These concerns were the subject of congressional inquiries, the most famous of which were the
Pujo hearings into the Money Trust in the wake of the 1907 panic." See Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell
(1994), A New Economic View of American History: From Colonial Times to 1940, 2nd ed. (New York:
Norton), p. 510. See also Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz (1963), A Monetary History of the
United States, 1867-1960 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press), p. 48.
15
See Carter Glass (1927), An Adventure in Constructive Finance (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page).
- 9 -
in scope. As a result, the Reserve Banks created a committee to coordinate these "open
market operations." But in these years, the Reserve Banks were not bound by that
committee's decisions and could derail any attempt at coordinated action.
This decentralization was thought by some to have undermined the Federal
Reserve's response to the Great Depression.16 With that experience in mind, the 1935
Banking Act modified the distribution of power within the Federal Reserve System,
giving the Board of Governors 7 of the 12 seats on the Federal Open Market Committee
(FOMC) (figure 10).17 The other 5 seats are held by the Reserve Banks. The Federal
Reserve Bank of New York has a permanent seat, and the other Reserve Banks share the
remaining 4 seats on a rotating basis.18 While FOMC members are free to dissent from
the majority decision about open market operations, the Reserve Banks are nevertheless
required to adhere to that decision in conducting open market operations.
The structure set out in 1935 has been essentially unchanged to this day and has
served the country well. As intended by the framers, the federal nature of the system has
ensured a diversity of views and promotes a healthy debate over policy. My strong view
is that this institutionalized diversity of thinking is a strength of our System. In my
experience, the best outcomes are reached when opposing viewpoints are clearly and
strongly presented before decisions are made.
Members of the Board of Governors and Presidents of the Reserve Banks arrive at
their own independent viewpoints about the economy and the appropriate path for
monetary policy. Congress has assigned the FOMC the task of achieving stable prices
and maximum employment; however, policymakers may disagree on the best way to
achieve those goals.19 The System's structure encourages exploration of a diverse range
of views and promotes a healthy policy debate.20 In the modern Federal Reserve System,
each Reserve Bank has an independent research department, with its own external
publications. In addition, while the members of the Board tend to focus on developments
in the nation as a whole, the Reserve Bank Presidents bring specialized information about
their regional economies to the FOMC discussion. Before each FOMC meeting, Reserve
Bank Presidents consult with their staff of economists as well as their boards of directors,
business contacts in their Districts, and market experts to develop their independent
views of appropriate monetary policy.
The FOMC works to achieve a consensus policy by blending inputs from the
members of the Board of Governors and from the Reserve Bank Presidents under the
leadership of its Chair. By tradition, the Chair of the Board has been chosen as the Chair
of the FOMC and has had a central role in setting the agenda for the FOMC and
developing consensus among the Committee's members. In addition, the Chair is the
most visible public face of the Federal Reserve System.
The Fed is accountable to Congress and the public for its activities and decisions.
Historically, the activities of central banks were shrouded in mystery. Montagu Norman,
the famously secretive Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944, reportedly
took as his personal motto, "Never explain, never excuse" (figure 11).21
In the modern era, all that has changed, as central banks have come to see
transparency both as a requirement of democratic accountability and as a way of
supporting the efficacy of their policies. Over recent decades the Fed has significantly
augmented its public communications, as have other major central banks. The Chair
testifies before Congress twice each year about the U.S. economy and the FOMC's
monetary policy in pursuit of its statutory goals of stable prices and maximum
employment (figure 12).22 The Federal Reserve Board prepares a Monetary Policy
Report to accompany that testimony.23 The Chair also holds press conferences after four
FOMC meetings each year. The FOMC releases statements after its meetings that
explain the economic outlook and the rationale for its policy decision. Detailed minutes
of the Committee's meetings are published three weeks later.24 Since 2007, FOMC
participants have submitted quarterly macroeconomic projections that are published in
the Summary of Economic Projections.25 In 2012, the FOMC issued a Statement on
21
Ben Bernanke, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, referenced the motto in a 2007 speech.
See Ben S. Bernanke (2007), "Federal Reserve Communications," speech delivered at the Cato Institute
25th Annual Monetary Conference, Washington, November 14,
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20071114a.htm.
22
The statutory mandate was added in the Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977.
23
The Monetary Policy Report is available on the Board's website at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/mpr_default.htm.
24
FOMC statements and the minutes of FOMC meetings are available on the Board's website at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm.
25
Since 2012, the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) has included each individual FOMC
participant's assessment of appropriate monetary policy in the form of an interest rate "dot plot." The SEP
is available on the Board's website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm.
Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, which is reaffirmed every January.
This statement discusses the Committee's interpretation of its statutory goals of
maximum employment and price stability; it indicates that the Committee judges
inflation of 2 percent, as measured by the annual change in the price index for personal
consumption expenditures, to be most consistent over the longer run with the Federal
Reserve's statutory mandate.26 Transcripts of FOMC meetings are released to the public
after a delay of about five years.
Federal Reserve Board Governors and Reserve Bank Presidents contribute to the
Federal Reserve's transparency with frequent public speeches and other communications.
I believe that support for the Federal Reserve as a public institution is sustained by the
public expression of our diverse views.27
These communications with Congress and the public are critical parts of the
Federal Reserve's institutional accountability and transparency, and are essential
complements to its independence. It is important that Federal Reserve officials regularly
demonstrate that the Fed has been appropriately pursuing its mandated goals.
Transparency can also make monetary policy more effective by helping to guide the
public's expectations and clarify the Committee's policy intentions.
26
The most recent statement is available on the Board's website at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomc_longerrungoals.pdf.
27
See Jon Faust (1996), "Whom Can We Trust to Run the Fed? Theoretical Support for the Founders'
Views," Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 37 (April), pp. 267-83; Jon Faust (2016), "Oh, What a
Tangled Web We Weave: Monetary Policy Transparency in Divisive Times," Hutchins Center Working
Paper 25 (Washington: Brookings Institution, November),
https://www.brookings.edu/research/oh-what-atangled-web-we-weave-monetary-policy-transparency-in-divisive-times; and Jerome H. Powell (2016), "A
View from the Fed," speech delivered at "Understanding Fedspeak," an event cosponsored by the Hutchins
Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution and the Center for Financial Economics
at Johns Hopkins University, Washington, November 30,
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20161130a.htm.
Recent Changes in Federal Reserve System Governance
In recent years, the governance of the Federal Reserve System has continued to
evolve. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
provided that directors representing financial institutions--the class A directors, of which
there are three on each Reserve Bank board--may not participate in the appointment of
Reserve Bank presidents and first vice presidents. The Federal Reserve Board has long
had policies preventing Reserve Bank directors from participating in supervisory matters
or in determining the appointment of any Reserve Bank officer whose primary duties
involve supervisory matters. These directors continue to provide highly valuable
information about developments in their markets, and take part fully in other roles with
the other six directors.
Another aspect of governance involves the better representation of women and
minorities in the Federal Reserve System. Indeed, while I have focused my remarks on
the history of geographical diversity in the Federal Reserve System, we also strive to
have diversity in gender and race both at the Board and at the Reserve Banks. In recent
years, the Reserve Banks' boards of directors have made significant progress along these
lines. Women now account for 34 percent of the directors, up from 24 percent five years
ago. In addition, minorities now account for 29 percent of directors, up from 19 percent
five years ago.
Conclusion
The long history of political discourse in the United States helps explain the
Federal Reserve's unique structure, in which the Board of Governors in Washington and
the 12 regional Reserve Banks share power over monetary policy (as shown in figure 1).
Throughout our history, Americans have questioned the structure and even, at times, the
need for a central bank. Current discussions of Fed reforms echo these past debates. But
it is important to understand that history in both advanced and emerging economies
across the world has consistently demonstrated the need for a central bank, and both the
existence and the structure of the Federal Reserve are products of that historical
experience. Our structure is fundamentally a compromise, shaped by American history
stretching back to the first Bank of the United States and, later, by the lessons of the
Great Depression. It is designed to deliver the United States a vitally needed central bank
in a country that has had a long-standing aversion to centralized power over monetary
and financial affairs. It preserves diverse regional voices while ensuring that policy can
be implemented through a cooperative consensus. The balance between national and
regional interests is critical to the spirit of the original compromise that created the
Federal Reserve, and to its democratic legitimacy. The structure achieves a practical
balance that should not be changed lightly, as it continues to serve the country well.
America's Central Bank: The History and
Structure of the Federal Reserve
Jerome H. Powell
Member
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
March 28, 2017
Figure 1. Federal Reserve System map
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2016), The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions, 10th
ed. (Washington: Board of Governors), p. 4, https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/files/pf_complete.pdf.
Figure 2. Lin-Manuel Miranda
Source: Steve Jurvetson, Lin-Manuel Miranda in His Role as Hamilton. New York, United States. April 20, 2016.
Retrieved from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lin-Manuel_Miranda_in_Hamilton.jpg.
Figure 3. Bank of the United States, 1791-1811
Source: Carol M. Highsmith, photographer, First Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between
1980 and 2006. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011635128.
Figure 4. Bank of the United States, 1816-1836
Source: Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Retrieved from the U.S. National Park Service,
https://www.nps.gov//common/uploads/photogallery/ner/park/inde/1a31a6f0-155d-451f-67dd77cebe8e6603/1a31a6f0-155d-451f-67dd77cebe8e6603.jpg.
Figure 5. William Jennings Bryan, Democratic Party presidential candidate, 1896
Source: William Robinson Leigh, Artist's Conception of William Jennings Bryan after the Cross of Gold Speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention,
McClure's Magazine, April 1900, p. 535. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bryan_after_speech.jpg.
Figure 6. The Great Financial Panic, 1873
Source: Illustration of The Great Financial Panic--Intersection of Nassau and Broad Streets with Wall Street--View of the Sub-Treasury . . . on Friday, Sept.
19th. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 1873. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005676065/.
Figure 7. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Source: Staff photographer, Eccles Building, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from the Federal Reserve
Flickr site, https://www.flickr.com/photos/federalreserve/26088200676.
Figure 8. Twelve Federal Reserve Banks, 1936
Source: Twelve Reserve Bank Buildings from 1936. Retrieved from the Federal Reserve Flickr site,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/federalreserve/11208497575/in/album-72157638354027213.
Figure 9. Congressmen Carter Glass
and Henry Steagall admiring Carter
Glass's bronze relief in the Eccles
Building with Chairman Marriner S.
Eccles, October 1937
Source: Harris & Ewing, photo credit, Carter Glass, Henry
Steagall, and Chairman Marriner S. Eccles. October 1937.
Retrieved from the Federal Reserve Flickr site,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/federalreserve/14103253413/in/al
bum-72157638354027213.
Figure 10. The Federal Open Market Committee
Source: Staff photographer, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Participants. April 26, 2016. Retrieved
from the Federal Reserve Flickr site, https://www.flickr.com/photos/federalreserve/26605969282.
Figure 11. Montagu Norman, Governor of the Bank of England, 1929
Source: Underwood & Underwood, Montagu Norman, 1st Baron Norman on the cover of Time magazine. April 19, 1929. Retrieved from
Time magazine website, http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19290819,00.html.
Figure 12. Chair Yellen testifying before Congress
Source: Chair Yellen Presenting the Monetary Policy Report to the Congress. July 24, 2014. Retrieved
from the Federal Reserve Flickr site, https://www.flickr.com/photos/federalreserve/14682300893.