FRASER digital library releases archival documents from the early days of the Federal Reserve

ST. LOUIS—The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has released newly digitized archival material, making FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) the largest digital collection of Federal Reserve historical materials.  These documents offer a glimpse into the founding of the Fed and its policy making activities.

In light of the Fed’s centennial, librarians and archivists have supplemented FRASER with hundreds of documents, maps, charts and illustrations culled from two renowned sources—the National Archives at College Park, Md. (NARA), and the Harry  S. Truman Library & Museum in Independence, Mo. 

These documents highlight specific themes related to the history of the Federal Reserve System. The topics include:

• Documents related to the Reserve Bank Organization Committee, which selected the cities and boundaries for the 12 Federal Reserve districts.
• The Banking Holiday of 1933, when President Roosevelt ordered the close of banks throughout the U.S. in order to rehabilitate the nation’s struggling banking system.
• Background on the historic Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord, which increased the Fed’s independence.
• The Open Market Investment Committee and Open Market Policy Conference—precursors to today’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)

In addition to the archival materials just made available, FRASER also contain selected papers from Marriner Eccles and William McChesney Martin Jr.—two important chairmen from the Fed’s history—as well as speeches from the Chairmen and Governors, and policy documents.  Further information about this archive can be found at http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ or by contacting Adam Allington.

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Archive Series Sources

These newly-added documents selected for digitization on FRASER were assembled from the following collections:  the Winfield W. Riefler Papers, Records of the Federal Reserve System, the Harry S. Truman Papers, the John W. Synder Papers and the Student Research File of the Harry S. Truman Library.