Talk No 2 (368 words)

A university professor is speaking on the second period in the history of American money and banking system.

Good morning. At our previous lecture, we discussed the first period in the history of American money and banking systems. As you know the American monetary and banking systems have gone through three periods of development. Today we are going to speak about the second period which lasted from 1860 to 1913.

The situation in the country and problems connected with the Civil War convinced national leaders that the United States needed a better banking system. Congress took steps to establish a new national banking system.

By the end of the Civil War in 1865, $450 million in currency was in circulation but this fiat money was backed only by the federal government's promise to repay at some future date. After the Civil War, Congress took actions to support the national currency as a stable medium of exchange. First, Congress tied the paper money to gold with the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873. The Gold Standard Act of 1900 committed the government to the gold standard - a monetary system in which paper money is fully backed by and convertible into gold.

The next step Congress took was to create a dual banking system composed of national banks and state banks. The system brought more uniformity and stability to money and banking. The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 required banks to hold gold and silver reserves. National banks were chartered by the federal government. As for the state banks they were chartered and regulated by individual states.

A further decision by the federal government was to issue a national currency only through the national banks. A national currency provided a nationally acceptable medium of exchange and stabilized the entire economic system.

So, to sum up we can say that a national system of banking introduced in the second period increased public confidence in paper currency and in the banking system as a whole. But of course, the system had some disadvantages. First, it did not provide for an efficient way to regulate the amount of money circulating in the economy. Second, the system lacked any central organization.

At our next lecture we shall find out how these problems were solved and speak about failures and successes of the third period.

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Talk No 1 (350 words)	\|	Listen to Talk No 2 and answer the questions below. Then listen again and check your answers.

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