Just for history purposes....prior to 1913....the Fed didn't exist. The trigger? Well....the 'Panic of 1907'....caused a lot of banks to dissolve (not really giving anyone a blame-vehicle).
What caused this 1907 event? Mostly....a international liquidity shortage and culminated in a run on trust companies in New York City (the big boys at the time). Stocks within a one-week period....dropped by 50-percent of value. I should point out.....in the midst of this developing situation...the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company occurred (3rd biggest bank of the city).
In the eyes of the Senate....the fix here to prevent 'forever' 1907 events....was to create the Federal Reserve.
To stabilize the economy...they have monetary policy tools, interest rate adjustments and open market operations, to help manage inflation and unemployment.
The Fed has crisis management tools....acting as a lender of 'last resort), providing liquidity to banks during crises. (Example: the $700 billion TARP program in 2008....prevented bank runs).
Then, there's the global influence tool....which helps (or hurts) the dollar.
On the negative side? The Fed doesn't have to be a 'friend' of the White House, the Congress, or the American people.
Does the Fed distort markets? Absolutely.
Currency devaluation? The Fed gets into the middle of this and probably is more of a 'monster'.
Finally, firing the Fed when necessary....is near impossible.
Do I see the Fed going away? You'd simply replace it with something else. The bigger tool....a yearly audit by an outside Fed element....might be a better tool.
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