What was the main events leading to the creation of The Fed? What is the context for it happening? My understanding is that the issue of a national bank goes back to the Jackson days.
Specifically interested in the greenback vs fiat currency debates, and the sociology of decisions made.
Also, are there any good books on the history of Banking/commerce in the USA? I have a rudimentary understanding of the creation of the first national bank with Hamilton, and the power struggle between the two opposing sides, but want to gain a more thorough understanding. Having trouble finding a good book on the topic
There are really two phases in the creation of the Federal Reserve System, one roughly for each of the major political parties. After the 1907 panic there was the National Monetary Commission, created by a Republican Congress and led by Republican Senator Nelson Aldrich, which made recommendations for a national banking system. By the time this commission issued its final report, the Democrats had won the House of Representatives and shortly afterward the Democrats won the Senate and the presidency. Under Democratic leadership, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 reflected a greater sensitivity to rural sensitivities and constructed a system that was decentralized and more under political control than the one we have now. (Originally, the Secretary of the Treasury sat on the Federal Reserve Board and it met inside the Treasury Department.)
From 1933-1945, monetary policy was uniquely under the control of the White House. With the passage of the Thomas Amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the president had the power to change the value of the dollar in gold, monetize silver, or issue greenbacks. With the dollar devaluation and Gold Reserve Act of 1934, the Treasury acquired the Exchange Stabilization Fund, which gave the president further unilateral power in monetary policy. The White House lost its Thomas Amendment powers with the Bretton Woods Act of 1945, but retained the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
In the meantime, the Banking Act of 1935 gave the Federal Reserve System greater independence (notably, the Secretary of the Treasury no longer served, and the Federal Reserve got its own headquarters).
For my money (no pun intended) the best account of the Federal Reserve's first creation is in Elizabeth Sanders, ROOTS OF REFORM, in the chapter on Trade, Taxation, Banking, and Credit.