[![Alt-M: Ideas for an alternative monetary future](/build/cato_2020/images/alt-m.svg)](/alt-m)

March 3, 2012 5:14AM 

# “Why Was the Fed Created?” 

By [George Selgin](https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin) 

---

<a class="js-popover-trigger cursor-pointer popover-trigger" data-bs-placement="bottom" data-bs-trigger="click" id="popover-trigger"> 

SHARE 

</a> 

Was the subject assigned to me for [my “Tea Lecture”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeIljifA8Ls) to congressional staffers last week. The lecture is one of a series being sponsored by Ron Paul’s office. The true story of the Fed’s origins needs to be more widely known, so please do pass it on!

##### Related Tags 

[Monetary Policy](https://www.cato.org/monetary-policy), [Alt-M](https://www.cato.org/alt-m), [Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives](https://www.cato.org/center-monetary-financial-alternatives) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).