Question

When and why was The FDA formed? Was it in response to a national event or some sort of emergency?

Answer 1

The FDA was created in 1906 as the "Food and Drug" or "Wiley" Act, which was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. It was largely due to public response to "muckraking" journalists and writers such as Upton Sinclair. Read more about the history here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration_%28United_States%29#Origins_of_federal_food_and_drug_regulation