Wilson signs Federal Reserve Act, establishing the nation's central banking system

President Woodrow Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act into law on Dec. 23, 1913, creating the Federal Reserve System - the central bank of the United States. The law establishes a network of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks overseen by a seven-member Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The "for cause" removal standard becomes the center of a constitutional dispute more than a century later. (Library of Congress, Dec. 23, 1913)