Explanation should include historical events including the following:
- 1690-1776: Colonial Money and Banking
Shift from using European coins, barter, and commodity money to colonies minting coins and issuing paper money backed by land or precious metals; credit provided by merchants and individuals, not banks.
- 1791-1836: Early Central Banking
After War of Independence, controversial efforts to create a federal bank to provide credit to government and businesses, and to establish a national currency; First Bank of the United States (1791-1811) and Second Bank of the United States (1816-1836) were created, but each was not re-chartered.
- 1837-1863: Free Banking Era
American banking consisted of state-chartered banks without federal regulation (by 1860, an estimated 8,000 state banks issuing own notes); National Banking Act of 1863 ended Free Banking Era by establishing a national banking system and a uniform national currency backed by federal government bonds.
- 1873-1913: Financial Panics and the Creation of the Federal Reserve
Country still plagued by bank panics even after a national currency and banking system was established; Federal Reserve System created in 1913 as nation’s central bank to provide a flexible supply of currency to meet changing demand.
- 1929-1941: Great Depression
Longest and deepest economic downturn in U.S. history and a collapse of the banking system; banking reform established deposit insurance and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and created the modern structure of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policymaking body.
- 1965-1982: Great Inflation
Persistently high inflation rates caused major U.S. economic disruption; reforms to the Federal Reserve made price stability an explicit national policy goal.
- 1982-2007: Great Moderation
Period of low, stable inflation and long economic expansion; financial system changes included consolidation in the banking industry and integration of financial services; technological advances in methods of payments.
- 2007-2017: Great Recession and Aftermath
Significant economic downturn precipitated by severe financial crisis; subsequent wide-ranging financial reform (Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010) aimed at increasing the stability of the financial system
- 2017-present: Expansionary Global Marketplace and the Pandemic
Emergence of China and period of generally increased global prosperity before the COVID shutdown. Looking forward from the COVID pandemic, consumers, producers, and investors anticipate an accelerated personal financial marketplace with eTools and new emerging personal financial technology. This new competitive financial services marketplace will provide additional positive opportunities for consumers.