LEARNING ABOUT POLICY FROM FEDERAL RESERVE HISTORY.

In this article, the author uses historical data from the archives at the National Archives and Records Administration, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and the New York Federal Reserve Bank to consider the monetary policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department for the period from 1951 to 1986. The author considers the fifteen-year period of Great Inflation and analyzes why such an economic cycle has not been repeated to date. Other subjects considered include the worldwide influence of U.S. monetary policies, the transition away from the gold standard, and floating rates of the international currency exchange.