[125] Wilson declared that the banking system must be "public not private, [and] must be vested in the government itself so that the banks must be the instruments, not the masters, of business."[126]
Democrats crafted a compromise plan in which private banks would control twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, but a controlling interest in the system was placed in a central board filled with presidential appointees. Wilson convinced Democrats on the left that the new plan met their demands.[127] Finally the Senate voted 54–34 to approve the Federal Reserve Act.[128] The new system began operations in 1915, and it played a key role in financing the Allied and American war efforts in World War I.[129]

Antitrust legislation
See also: History of United States antitrust law
In a 1913 cartoon, Wilson primes the economic pump with tariff, currency and antitrust laws
Having passed major legislation lowering the tariff and reforming the banking structure, Wilson next sought antitrust legislation to enhance the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.[130] The Sherman Antitrust Act barred any "contract, combination...or conspiracy, in restraint of trade," but had proved ineffective in preventing the rise of large business combinations known as trusts.