This is a book about the late-nineteenth-century money debates in American politics, and about the role of history in American political development.

The U.S. monetary system is based on paper money backed by the full faith and credit of the fed. gov't. The currency is neither valued in, backed by, nor officially convertible into gold or silver. Through much of its history, however, the U.S. was on a metallic standard of one sort or another. On occasion, there are calls to return to such a system. Such calls are usually accompanied by claims that gold or silver backing has provided considerable economic benefits in the past. This report reviews the history of the GS in the U.S. It clarifies the dates during which the GS was used, the type of GS in operation at the various times, and the statutory changes used to alter the GS and eventually end it. It is not a discussion of the merits of the GS. A print on demand oub.

This influential study of the relationship between the prices of gold and other commodities was originally published in 1935. In it the authors attributed the initial cause of the great depression in the US to the reestablishment of the gold standard in many European countries and resulting deflation. The authors' recommendations were successfully implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt.