In the early 1900’s there were rumours published of a prominent bank in New York going bankrupt which caused a massive panic. As a result several other banks throughout the country were affected. It began when depositors discovered that the bank could not meet their withdrawal requests. This, in turn, caused the public to immediately withdraw their money in fear that they would lose their deposits. Shortly after this event, the implementation of a Central Bank was recommended so a panic like in 1907 would never occur again.
By December 23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. The Federal Reserve Act was a plan that aimed to provide a long-term solution to the country’s banking and financial problems. Although Wilson was not personally knowledgeable about banking and financial issues, he received expert advice from Virginia Rep. Carter Glass, who convinced him to sign the act into law, something Wilson later regretted. Years later he wrote, “I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is now controlled by its system of credit. We are no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.” Congressman Louis McFadden also expressed the truth shortly after the passage of the bill. “A world banking system was being set up here. A super state controlled by international bankers acting together to enslave the world for their own pleasure.”
The Federal Reserve Bank is responsible for producing the currency of the entire nation. Its two main powers are the control of interest rates and the control of the money supply. When the Federal Reserve increases the money supply and loans, it loans it with interest attached. It is important to understand that the entire structure of the current system does nothing but produce more and more debt because every dollar produced is a dollar plus a certain percentage of debt based on that dollar. This gives them the power to regulate the value of the currency because they control its production. The Federal Reserve has to continuously increase the money supply to cover the debt, which defaces the value of the currency as a result of money being produced out of thin air. The printing of excess money to deal with a crisis leads to inflation, which is the rising of prices of goods in the market, and an inevitability of the current structure.
When President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, the public was assured that the proposed system was an economic stabilizer that would prevent things like inflation and economic crises. However, from 1914-1919 the Federal Reserve nearly doubled the money supply resulting in widespread loans to the public and other small businesses. In 1920, another “run” on the bank similar to what took place in 1907 occurred after the Federal Reserve called in a large percentage of the outstanding money supply. Thousands of competitive banks outside of the Federal Reserve System collapsed.
A margin loan was introduced shortly after the economy regained stability, which allowed an investor to put down only 10 percent of a stock’s price with the other 90 percent being loaned. This method became extremely popular because it allowed an investor to own a stock worth $100 with only $10. Nearly everyone in the market was making money, but of course with this new type of loan came a catch. The loan could be called in when the value of the underlying securities or entire account falls below a certain level, and had to be paid within 24 hours. In 1929 margin loans were called in which caused another massive panic because every investor had to immediately cover the margin loans. This caused thousands of banks to collapse allowing the international bankers to buy rival banks at discounted prices and entire corporations for pennies.