After working as a newspaper editor and publisher , Glass won election to the Senate of Virginia in 1899 . He was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1902 , where he was an influential advocate of both progressive and segregationist policies . Glass won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1902 and became Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Currency in 1913 . Working with President Wilson , he passed the Federal Reserve Act , which established a central banking system for the United States . Glass served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1918 until 1920 , when he accepted an appointment to represent Virginia in the United States Senate . Glass was a favorite son candidate for the presidential nomination at the 1920 Democratic National Convention
1920 Democratic National Convention
1920 Democratic National Convention
Carter Glass