As the Fed's historical data service, FRASER, is kind enough to remind us, today is a historic day: on today's date in 1914, the first Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve met.

On this day in 1914, the first Board of Governors meets https://t.co/T07gcOdwKo pic.twitter.com/6UJjcpnH4N — FRASER (@FedFRASER) August 13, 2016

Not only that, but Fraser was kind enough to release the full minutes from the August 13, 1914 meeting. While the bulk of the meeting is spent on the decision how to partition the US into the various regional Feds, and the bickering among various cities that had lobbied, unsuccessfully, to host a reserve bank to be, one particular section caught our attention: here is the earliest official justification by the Fed for its existence, and how the Federal Reserve defined its own purpose. In its own words (page 13):

It became clear, in the hearings, that comparatively few people realized, or seemed to realize, what the act was intended to accomplish; wnat the nature and functions of the reserve banks were to be; and how little change would occur in the ordinary financial relations of the communities, the business establishments, and the individual banks. Critics of the decision of the committee reveal misunderstanding in these directions, and either do not know, or appear not to know, that the Federal reserve banks are bankers' banks and not ordinary commercial banks; that they are to hold the reserves and to clear the checks of member banks, make rediscounts for them, and engage in certain open-market operations. As a matter of fact, the ordinary every-day banking relations of the community, of business men, and of banks will not be greatly modified or altered. The purpose of the system is to remove artificiality, promote normal relations, and create better conditions under which everybody will transact business.

102 year later, the "financially repressed" population howls in laughter at the irony between the Fed's "stated purpose" and what has actually transpired.

Full minutes below (pdf).

h/t @calconfidence