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Period: Jan 1, 1492 to
Colonial Era
Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620. -
Bank of England was established
Founded in 1694, the Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Sometimes known as the ‘Old Lady’ of Threadneedle Street, the Bank’s mission is to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability. -
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Banking Before 1913
By December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, it stood as a classic example of compromise—a decentralized central bank that balanced the competing interests of private banks and populist sentiment. -
First Bank of the U.S.
First Bank of the United States was needed because the government had a debt from the Revolutionary War, and each state had a different form of currency. It was built while Philadelphia was still the nation's capital. -
2nd Bank of the U.S.
The Second Bank of the United States, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian National Bank. The essential function of the bank was to regulate the public credit issued by private banking institutions through the fiscal duties it performed for the U.S. -
Free Banking
In this period, only state-chartered banks existed. They could issue bank notes against specie (gold and silver coins) and the states heavily regulated their own reserve requirements, interest rates for loans and deposits, the necessary capital ratio. -
1863- Lincoln signed National Banking act
The National Bank Act of 1863 was designed to create a national banking system, float federal war loans, and establish a national currency. Congress passed the act to help resolve the financial crisis that emerged during the early days of the American Civil War. -
1863 Green Backs
Greenbacks were paper currency printed in green on the back, it was issued by the United States during the American Civil War. The colors, ornate designs, unique identification number, signatures and denomination-studded borders were designed to limit counterfeiting, a major weakness of similar bills, called Continentals, issued during the Revolution. -
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Banking in the 20th Century
During the period from 1890–1925, the investment banking industry was highly concentrated and dominated by an oligopoly that consisted of JP Morgan & Co.; Kuhn, Loeb & Co.; Brown Brothers; and Kidder, Peabody & Co. -
1913 Fed Resrve system
Act of Congress that created and established the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States, and granted it the legal authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Bank Notes as legal tender. The Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. -
1934 The Gold Reserve Act
Gold Reserve Act of January 30, 1934 required that all gold and gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve be surrendered and vested in the sole title of the United States Department of the Treasury. -
1971 Nixon closes Gold
Nixon directed Treasury Secretary Connally to suspend, with certain exceptions, the convertibility of the dollar into gold or other reserve assets, ordering the gold window to be closed such that foreign governments could no longer exchange their dollars for gold.
