10-J: The History of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

A production of Kansas City Public Television in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Overview

In 1913 Congress created the Federal Reserve to bring financial stability to the nation after a number of banking panics, with a mix of regional banks and a central bank board. Congressmen Robert L. Owen and Carter Glass helped pass the Federal Reserve Act with the help of compromises led by President Woodrow Wilson. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City was begun in 1914, led by Jo Zach Miller, Jr., along with local bankers such as William T. Kemper. With the bank rapidly growing, about 1920 a new 21 story building was built at 9th and Grand that at one time held the offices of the Bureau of Investigation and President Harry S. Truman.