Wilson pushed for the creation of the Federal Reserve to secure the American banking system, this being the third time a central bank was created in the United States. It is an autonomous and private entity that controls the organizational structure in which a government agency, known as the Board of Governors, based in Washington DC, participates. Thus, some consider this as the public aspect of the system and the 12 Reserve Banks of the entire country, the private aspect, which is in charge of guarding part of the reserves of the American "member banks": the federal ones, and the state ones associated voluntarily. Its creation was marked by controversy, due to divergent views among Republicans, which advocated the creation of an exclusively private central bank and the majority sector of the Democrats, which demanded a central bank with an European system, under government control. The result was finally a compromise between both visions, guaranteeing some influence of the private bankers in the Federal Reserve.
The impact of the United States joining the war was significant. The additional firepower, resources, and soldiers of the U.S. helped to tip the balance of the war in favor of the Allies. When war broke out in 1914, the United States had a policy of neutrality.
