Submitted by Thomas Gresham of Gresham's Law [5],
Here we present a history of the Fed in charts. As you’ll surely glean from the below — the Fed has degenerated from a by and large passive institution (dealing only in high-quality self-liquidating commercial paper and gold) to an active pursuant of junk, an enabler of wars, a ‘benevolent’ combatant of the depressions of its own creation, a central planner of employment & prices and of course a forgiving friend to inconvenient market follies.
The Fed's Assets from 1915 to 2012:
[6]
1915 to 1925
[7]
1925 to 1935
[8]
1935 to 1945
[9]
1945 to 1955
[10]
1955 to 1965
[11]
1965 to 1975
[12]
1975 to 1985
[13]
1985 to 1995
[14]
1995 to 2005
[15]
2005 to 2012
[16]