State of The Nation

  How the Federal Reserve System Deepened the Great Depression BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF) The Federal Reserve, created in 1913 to prevent banking crises, fundamentally failed its core mandate during the Great Depression (1929-1933). Rather than acting as a lender of last resort to prevent bank failures, the Fed allowed the money supply to contract by nearly one-third between 1929 and 1933, converting a severe recession into an economic catastrophe. Combined with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930—which contracted global trade by 66%—these policy failures transformed what economists estimate would have been a 3-4 year downturn into a decade-long depression with unemployment reaching 25%. In 2002, then-Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke publicly acknowledged the Fed's responsibility, telling Milton Friedman: "Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again." The Paradox: A Central Bank T...

  The Final Capitulation: How the 1913 Federal Reserve Design Ensures Presidential Control (2026) The Real Story in One Sentence The Federal Reserve's "independence" was never structural—it was personal. Jerome Powell's integrity kept it alive. Kevin Warsh's confirmation will end it. What's Happening Now (April 2026) President Trump has consolidated control of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors through appointment of loyalists committed to low interest rates regardless of inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term expires May 15, 2026. Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh as his successor with an explicit condition: lower rates or "you will never be Fed Chairman." A federal judge in March 2026 quashed Justice Department subpoenas against Powell, finding them designed to "harass and pressure" him into resignation. This extraordinary judicial intervention was the only structural brake on presidential control that existed. With Powel...

In 1913 America Got a Central Bank, an Income Tax, and Lost Its Senate — All in the Same Year  A lot of things Henry Ford said are untrue, but this is not one of those: It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.  Eustace Mullins The Federal Reserve System is not Federal; it has no reserves; and it is not a system at all, but rather, a criminal syndicate. The Architecture of Power: Fact-Checking the 1913 Constitutional Transformation Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) A secret meeting in November 1910 on Jekyll Island, Georgia, between six prominent bankers and a US senator laid the foundation for the Federal Reserve System; the 16th Amendment authorizing a federal income tax was ratified on February 3, 1913; and the 17th Amendment enabling direct election of US senators was ratified ...