This makes no sense. The initial implementation of the Fed (until power was moved to Washington in 1934) was ineffective. The recession of 1920 (it was called a

This makes no sense. The initial implementation of the Fed (until power was moved to Washington in 1934) was ineffective. The recession of 1920 (it was called a depression, and the drop in prices was one of the most severe in history) was caused by Fed policy, as was the Great Depression. The Fed has always had a huge role in the economy (and that role has changed substantially over time). What they do effects the cycle. You don't need to make wildly general conclusions. It is also very odd to call all of the periods you mention recessions...they weren't. Some of them were specific banking panics that had no effect on the real economy. The purpose of the Fed, which was effective eventually, was to alleviate the disruption caused by the agricultural cycle (which caused gold to flow in/out changing the monetary base. But there was no real mandate for economic stability, that isn't why the Fed was created, and that idea would have made no sense to central bankers until very recently (probably the 1980s, although for different reasons over time).