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National Monetary Commission was a study group created by the Aldrich Vreeland Act of 1908. After the Panic of 1897 American bankers turned to Europe for ideas on how to operate a central bank. Senator Nelson Aldrich, Republican leader of the Senate, personally led a team of experts to major European capitals. They were stunned to discover how much more efficient the Europeans were. Furthermore the pound, frank and mark were much more important in international trade than the dollar.

The Commission issued 30 reports (1909-1912) that provided a detailed and authoritative survey of banking systems of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They examine such topics as U.S. financial laws; U.S. state banking statutes; Canadian banking history; and the banking and currency systems of England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Mexico, Russia, and other nations. The volumes contain essays commissioned from leading specialists, plus innumerable tables, charts, graphs, and facsimiles of forms and documents. Some volumes contain transcripts of relevant speeches, interviews, and hearings.

The Commission's reports became the basis for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 creating the modern Federal Reserve system.

• Stephenson, Nathaniel W. Nelson W. Aldrich: A Leader In American Politics. 1930
• Donald R Wells. The Federal Reserve System: A History (2004)
• Elmus Wicker. The Great Debate on Banking Reform: Nelson Aldrich And Origins of the Fed by Elmus Wicker (2005)

• Wood, John H. A History of Central Banking in Great Britain and the United States (2005)