The Secret Origin Story of the Federal Reserve
The story of the original gathering to design the Federal Reserve System has been recounted many times.
But where did the history of this iconic gathering of bankers come from? All evidence points to B.C. Forbes, grandfather of noted gold standard advocate (and media titan) Steve Forbes.
Jekyll Island’s history website reprises the personalities and the story’s sources:
Soon after the 1907 panic, Congress formed the National Monetary Commission to review banking policies in the United States. The committee, chaired by Senator Nelson W. Aldrich of Rhode Island, toured Europe and collected data on the various banking methods being incorporated. Using this information as a base, in November of 1910 Senator Aldrich invited several bankers and economic scholars to attend a conference on Jekyll Island. While meeting under the ruse of a duck-shooting excursion, the financial experts were in reality hunting for a way to restructure America’s banking system and eliminate the possibility of future economic panics.
The 1910 “duck hunt” on Jekyll Island included Senator Nelson Aldrich, his personal secretary Arthur Shelton, former Harvard University professor of economics Dr. A. Piatt Andrew, J.P. Morgan & Co. partner Henry P. Davison, National City Bank president Frank A. Vanderlip and Kuhn, Loeb…
