How did the Federal Reserve get started?
The book "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin provides a comprehensive account of the founding of the Federal Reserve, revealing the true motivations behind its establishment.
The Federal Reserve, a central institution in the American financial system, is commonly seen as a government entity aimed at ensuring economic stability. However, a closer look at its origins, especially the events preceding its establishment, presents a different story.
The Jekyll Island Meeting: A Cartel in the Making
The story of the Federal Reserve begins on Jekyll Island, where a secretive meeting was held in 1910. The participants of this meeting were not just any group of individuals; they were some of the most powerful bankers and financiers of the time, including representatives of the Morgan, Rockefeller, and Warburg interests.
These men, who controlled vast amounts of the world's wealth, gathered with a clear purpose: to create a banking cartel that would allow them to maintain control over the nation's financial resources while minimizing competition from smaller banks.
The meeting was highly secretive. Attendees, including Nelson Aldrich, Frank Vanderlip, Henry P. Davison, and Paul Warburg, took great pains to keep their identities and the purpose of their gathering hidden. They knew that if the public or the government found out about their true intentions, their plan would be foiled.
Manipulating Public Perception
One key challenge the Jekyll Island group faced was presenting their plan in a way that would be acceptable to Congress and the American public.
The concept of a central bank, particularly one controlled by private interests, was likely to be met with suspicion and opposition. To overcome this, the group devised a strategy to present the Federal Reserve as a decentralized institution that would prevent financial panics and ensure economic stability.
They avoided using the term "central bank" and emphasized the Federal Reserve's regional structure to create the illusion of a system that was not dominated by Wall Street.
The manipulation of public perception was crucial for the successful passage of the Federal Reserve Act. By convincing the public and lawmakers that the Federal Reserve was a necessary reform to prevent future financial crises, the architects of the system established a central bank that served their interests under the guise of a government agency.
