The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has a long history of providing economic and financial information to the public that continues today, although the format, delivery, and amount of information have changed over the years. Today, the St. Louis Fed provides Web-based data and information services, including FRED® and FRASER®, and publications,…

In 1890, the United States government had no agency empowered to control the overall supply of money. Fifty years later, it had a full set of monetary institutions, including a central bank whose structure is much the same today. Further, it had enough experience to know both the promise and the pitfalls of monetary control. How did the nation's…

The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. The system includes 12 Federal Reserve Banks (and their associated branches) located throughout the country, with oversight by the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. The diverse structure is designed to ensure that the interests of Main Street are represented along with those…

Data and primary source documents are important for understanding past and current events. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has committed itself to the collection and illumination of economic data and historical information for classroom teachers and researchers. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis provides a number of services--including…

In the fall of 2008, the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and St. Louis began a systematic evaluation of their economic and personal finance educational outreach programs. Both banks were interested in developing tools to assess the success of their existing economic and financial education programs. However, before any assessment could begin, a…

Central banking in the United States has a long and controversial history dating back to the earliest days of the republic. One of the most widely presented arguments against a central bank has been that the U.S. Constitution does not expressly grant the federal government power to charter a bank. Recently, this issue has received new scrutiny in…

Today's young students, when they grow to be adults, will have to make decisions the consequences of which will impact their lives and the lives of others. As consumers, they will need to understand that they can't have everything they want. They will have to make spending, savings, and investing decisions that benefit their own families over the…