The Walter B. Wriston Archives

Banking Timeline, 1775-1947

1775

May 10 -- Paper currency called "Continental Money" is issued by the Continental Congress to finance the Revolutionary War, circulation stopped on May 31, 1781.¹

1782

January 7 -- Bank of North America opens in Philadelphia, the charter is granted by Congress in 1781.²

1785

July 6 -- Congress adopts the dollar as the currency of the United States.³

1791

February 25 -- The First Bank of the United States is chartered by Congress for twenty years⁴

1792

April 2 -- Congress passes the Coinage Act which establishes the first U.S. Mint in Philadelphia⁵

Mary 17 -- Twenty-four traders meet at 68 Wall Street in New York City to create the Buttonwood Agreement, an arrangement for the buying and selling of shares and loans.⁶

1812

June 16 -- City Bank of New York (later named Citibank) opens.⁷

June 18 -- Congress declares war against England.

1816

April 13 -- Congress approves the charter for the Second Bank of the United States for twenty years. The bank is established to finance the debt accumulated from the War of 1812.⁸

1817

March 8 -- A group of New York City brokers establish the New York Stock and Exchange Board.⁹

1819

The Second Bank of the United States and other banks begin recalling federal loans for land; as a result many banks closed and loan holders were left bankrupt, this was later called the Panic of 1819.¹⁰

1835

March 3 -- Congress approves the establishment of U.S. mints in New Orleans, Louisiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Dahlonega, Georgia.¹¹

1838

New York passes the Free Banking Act which allows anyone to open a bank as long as they comply with certain legal conditions. Other states followed suit and these state banks began issuing their own money.¹²

1854

April 3 -- U.S. Mint opens in San Francisco, California on Commercial St.¹³

1861

May -- During the Civil War, the Confederates closed the U.S. Mints in New Orleans, Louisiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Dahlonega, Georgia. The New Orleans Mint was later reopened in 1879 and ultimately closed in 1909.¹⁴

1862

July 1 -- President Abraham Lincoln signs the Revenue Act of 1862 which institutes an income tax to pay for the Civil War and establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.¹⁵

1863

New York Stock and Exchange Board is renamed New York Stock Exchange.¹⁶

February 25 -- Congress approves the National Currency Act, later revised as the National Bank Act of 1864, which establishes the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a national banking system, and a standardized national currency. The new national banking system is under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.¹⁷

1864

June 3 -- President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Bank Act, a revision of the National Currency Act of 1863. It establishes an inspection system for national banks.¹⁸

1865

City Bank of New York joins the new U.S. national banking system and becomes The National City Bank of New York.¹⁹

1890

July 2 -- President Benjamin Harrison signs the Sherman Antitrust Act which prohibits trusts and other entities from preventing international and state-wide trade.²⁰

1891

American Express is the first to create traveler’s checks.²¹

1894

August 27 -- Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act is passed by Congress to reduce tariff rates and to institute an income tax to make-up the tariff losses. During the U.S. Supreme Court case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company in 1895, the income tax was deemed unconstitutional.²²

National City Bank of New York becomes the largest bank in the U.S.²³

National City Bank of New York is the first major U.S. bank to establish a foreign department; begins foreign exchange trading.²⁴

1900

March 14 -- Congress passes the Gold Standard Act which institutes gold as the standard medium of exchange for paper currency.²⁵

1904

The National City Bank of New York introduces traveler’s checks.²⁶

1907

The Panic of 1907 is caused by Augustus Heinze who tries unsuccessfully to corner the copper market. As a result, large groups of depositors withdrew funds from banks affiliated with the copper industry. Then, depositors begin withdrawing from other banks such as Knickerbocker Trust Company of New York. The mass withdrawals shook the stock market. J.P. Morgan and other bankers supplied wavering banks with funds to alleviate the panic.²⁷

1913

February 25 -- The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified giving Congress the right to collect federal income taxes.²⁸

December 23 -- Congress passes the Federal Reserve Act which established the Federal Reserve System (or Fed), the Federal Reserve Board, and twelve regional reserve banks.²⁹

1927

February 25 -- President Calvin Coolidge signs the McFadden Act which prohibits interstate branch banking, but allows national banks to open branches in their headquarter cities if permitted by state law.³⁰

1929

The National City Bank of New York becomes the largest commercial bank in the world.³¹

October 24 -- The start of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, also called Black Thursday. Stock prices fall and 12,894,650 shares are traded.³²

October 28 -- The continuation of the crash, also called Black Monday. Stock prices continue to fall and over nine million shares are traded.³³

October 29 -- The worst day of the stock market crash, also called Black Tuesday. Over 16 million shares are traded.³⁴

1930

June 17 -- President Herbert Hoover signs the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. It raises U.S. tariffs which results in a decline in U.S. imports and exports.³⁵

1932

July 22 -- Federal Home Loan Bank Act is passed by Congress to enable home ownership. The act establishes a Federal Home Loan Bank System, a Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB), and twelve Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB).³⁶

1932

February 27 -- The Glass-Steagall Act is signed by President Herbert Hoover. This act is also referred to as the first Glass-Steagall Act and the Banking Act of 1933. It increases the amount of credit Federal Reserve Banks can extend and allows commercial paper to be used as reserve.³⁷

1933

June 16 -- The second Glass-Steagall Act also called the Banking Act of 1933 is signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It establishes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and prohibits interest payments for checking accounts. It also separates commercial and investment banking, a bank could do one or the other but not both.³⁸

1934

June 6 -- The Securities Exchange Act is signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It establishes the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee security markets and to provide financial disclosure to stockholders and investors.³⁹

1935

August 23 -- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves the Banking Act of 1935. The act permanently establishes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and expands the power of the Federal Reserve System.⁴⁰

1936

National City Bank of New York is the first bank in New York City to offer consumer checking accounts with no minimum-balance requirement.⁴¹

1944

July 1-22 -- United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference also called the Bretton Woods Conference was held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Forty-four governments attended and create the Articles of Agreement of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund. The agreement creates the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund to regulate international economic policy.⁴²

1945

December 27 -- The Articles of Agreement of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund also called the Bretton Woods Agreement is signed by almost thirty governments. The signatures implement the agreements made at the Bretton Woods Conference.⁴³

1947

October -- General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)is signed at the Geneva Trade Conference. It is established to improve international trade by reducing tariffs and revising trade regulations. During the conference, a charter is drafted for an International Trade Organization (ITO) to oversee international trade but the ITO was never approved by Congress and was not established.⁴⁴

  1. James W. Gilbert, The History of Banking in America (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green &Longman, 1837; reprint New York: Augustus M. Kelley Publishers, 1967), 3-4.
  1. Ibid., 4.
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1780-1789, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1600-1799.shtml#4(accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. James W. Gilbert, The History of Banking in America (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, 1837; reprint New York: Augustus M. Kelley Publishers, 1967), 6-7.
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1790-1799, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1600-1799.shtml#5(accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. NYSE Euronext, Timeline, http://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_events.html (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1810-1819, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1800-1899.shtml#2(accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. NYSE Euronext, Timeline, http://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_events.html (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. Richard Hildreth, The history of banks: to which is added a demonstration of the advantages and necessity of free competition in the business of banking (London: Routledge/Thoemmes Press, 1837; reprint 1996), 64-72.
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1830-1839, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1800-1899.shtml#4(accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. Richard H. K. Vietor, "Regulation-Defined Financial Markets: Fragmentation and Integration in Financial Services," in Wall Street and Regulation, ed. Samuel L. Hayes, III (Boston: Harvard Business School Press: 1987), 9-10.
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, United States Mint at San Francisco, http://www.usmint.gov/aboutthemint/mintfacilities/index.cfm?action=SFfacilities (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1830-1839, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1800-1899.shtml#4(accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1860-1869, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1800-1899.shtml#7(accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. NYSE Euronext, Timeline, http://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_events.html (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1860-1869, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1800-1899.shtml#7(accessed October 26, 2007).
  1. Ibid.
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division Manual: Chapter II Statutory Provisions and Guidelines of the Antitrust Division § 1 Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1, http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/foia/divisionmanual/two.htm#a1 (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. American Express Company, Our History: Innovation and Expansion, http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/os/history.asp (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. Steven R. Weisman,The Great Tax Wars: Lincoln to Wilson the fierce battles over money and power that transformed the nation (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002), 133-153.
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. A.T. Huntington and Robert J. Mawhinney, Laws of the United States concerning money, banking, and loans, 1778-1909 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910), 704-705.
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. Elmus Wicker, Banking Panics of the Gilded Age, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 88-98.
  1. United States Department of the Treasury, History of the Treasury: 1910-1919, http://www.treas.gov/education/history/events/1900-present.shtml#1(accessed October 2007)
  1. Richard H. K. Vietor, "Regulation-Defined Financial Markets: Fragmentation and Integration in Financial Services," in Wall Street and Regulation, ed. Samuel L. Hayes, III (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1987), 12.
  1. Eugene Nelson White, The Regulation and Reform of the American Banking System, 1900-1929, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1983), 164-165.
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash of 1929, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972), 103-104.
  1. John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash of 1929, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972), 114.
  1. John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash of 1929, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972), 116-117.
  1. U.S. Department of State, Hawley-Smoot Tariff, 1930 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/id/17606.htm (accessed November 5, 2007)
  1. Federal Home Loan Banks: A National of Local Lenders, FHL Bank History, http://www.fhlbanks.com/html/history.html (accessed November 5, 2007)
  1. Allan H. Meltzer, A History of the Federal Reserve: Volume I, 1913-1951, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003), 357-358.
  1. Allan H. Meltzer, A History of the Federal Reserve: Volume I, 1913-1951, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003), 429-434.
  1. Richard H. K. Vietor, "Regulation-Defined Financial Markets: Fragmentation and Integration in Financial Services," in Wall Street and Regulation, ed. Samuel L. Hayes, III (Boston: Harvard Business School Press: 1987), 22.
  1. Kerry S. Cooper and Donald R. Fraser, Banking Deregulation and the New Competition in Financial Services, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1986), 50-54.
  1. Citi, Citigroup's History, http://www.citigroup.com/citigroup/corporate/history/citibank.htm (accessed October 26, 2007)
  1. The World Bank Group, Bretton Woods Conference, http://go.worldbank.org/7FAW51DBL0 (accessed November 7, 2007)
  1. International Monetary Fund, International Monetary Fund Chronology, http://imf.org/external/np/exr/chron/chron.asp (accessed November 7, 2007)

44. John H. Jackson, The World Trading System: Law and Policy of International Economic Relations, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1989), 32-39.