How the Fed Fueled the War Machine—and Never Stopped

This is a commentary on the Veterans Day essay “The War That Made the Fed; The Fed That Made the War”, a sharp historical reflection that appeared in an investment-focused newsletter. The original article offers a crucial and often-overlooked connection between America’s entry into World War I and the creation of the Federal Reserve — a central bank that would go on to finance not just one war, but a century of them.

In this piece, I’ll break it all down in plain terms. My goal is to strip away the warm patriotic fog that tends to roll in every November and expose the machinery underneath — the institutional gears of war, credit, and inflation. If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of how America ended up with $38 trillion in debt, $4,000 gold, and endless war… it starts right here, in 1913.

This isn’t just about honoring the dead. It’s about understanding who sent them to die — and how they paid for it. Once you grasp the link between the Fed and modern warfare, you’ll understand why we’re in the financial mess we’re in today… and what you can do about it.