alternatehistory.com

Back in the early 1910s when the Federal Reserve Act was passed, there were various alternative plans that had been proposed.

The "Aldrich Plan" or the "Jekyll Island Plan", which was put forth following the secret gathering of bankers in 1910, for instance, called for a central banking system (dubbed a "National Reserve Association") that was administered considerably more by the bankers rather than the mixed government-banking consortium that ultimately was employed.

Simultaneously, the Congressional Committee under Arsene Pujo that was investigating the "Money Trusts" made a number of proposals that allegedly would have broken the power of Wall Street over the flow of currency.

William Jennings Bryan, having generally set aside his Free Silver platform by 1912, was calling for a strictly government controlled bank that had the authority to issue paper currency by Government dictate.

My training is not in any way focused on economics, so I'm hoping others can better explain -- if the United States gone with one or another of the alternatives, what would have been the results moving forward through World War I, into the boom of the 20s, and the Depression which followed? (I'd presume butterflies may make economic comparisons past the Depression less relevant.)
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