![<p>A $3 continental bill, c. 1776 (via <a href="https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/continental-currency-3-dollars">Museum of the American Revolution</a>) </p>](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/road-to-the-fed_720x450.jpg)
The Federal Reserve System was established in 1913 in reaction to a history of financial instability and other economic challenges.
![<p>President Wilson signing the Federal Reserve Act </p>](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/federal_reserve_act_signed_720x450.jpg)
Federal Reserve Act Signed
The Federal Reserve Act became law in December 1913, culminating three years of debate
![The old clubhouse, Jekyll Island, Georgia.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/jekyll_island_720x450.jpg)
Meeting at Jekyll Island
The 1910 gathering that laid the Fed’s foundations
![U.S. "greenback" bill from the Civil War](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/national-bank-acts_720x450.jpg)
National Bank Acts
The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 marked an important moment in the development of the U.S. banking system.
![This 1840s lithograph titled 'Custom House, late U.S. Bank" shows the building that housed the Second Bank. ](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/second_bank_1_720x450.jpg)
Second Bank of the U.S.
The nation made its second attempt at creating a central bank in 1816
![This 1830s painting titled 'Girard's Bank, late the Bank of the United States, in Third Street, Philadelphia' shows the building that housed the First Bank.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/first_bank_1_720x450.jpg)
First Bank of the U.S.
Hamilton's grand experiment in central banking began in 1791