عنوان

American default :

1400890381

9781400890385

0691161887

9780691161884

9780691196046

American default :

[Book]

the untold story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the battle over gold /

Sebastian Edwards.

Princeton, New Jersey :

Princeton University Press,

[2018]

©2018

1 online resource (252 pages) :

illustrations

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- 1. Gold and the Professors -- 2. A Tragic Disaster -- 3. The Quest for Money -- 4. A National Calamity -- 5. Moderate Inflation Is Necessary and Desirable -- 6. A Transfer of Wealth to the Debtor Class -- 7. The Gold Clause Is Gone -- 8. A London Interlude -- 9. Order in Place of Chaos -- 10. The Gold-Buying Program -- 11. The Path to the Supreme Court -- 12. Nine Old Men and Gold -- 13. Embarrassment and Confusion -- 14. The Waiting Game -- 15. The Decisions, at Last -- 16. Consequences -- 17. Could It Happen Again? -- Appendix. George F. Warren versus Irving Fisher's Plans for the Dollar.

0

"The untold story of how FDR did the unthinkable to save the American economy. The American economy is strong in large part because nobody believes that America would ever default on its debt. Yet in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt did just that, when in a bid to pull the country out of depression, he depreciated the U.S. dollar in relation to gold, effectively annulling all debt contracts. American Default is the story of this forgotten chapter in America's history. Sebastian Edwards provides a compelling account of the economic and legal drama that embroiled a nation already reeling from global financial collapse. It began on April 5, 1933, when FDR ordered Americans to sell all their gold holdings to the government. This was followed by the abandonment of the gold standard, the unilateral and retroactive rewriting of contracts, and the devaluation of the dollar. Anyone who held public and private debt suddenly saw its value reduced by nearly half, and debtors--including the U.S. government--suddenly owed their creditors far less. Revaluing the dollar imposed a hefty loss on investors and savers, many of them middle-class American families. The banks fought back, and a bitter battle for gold ensued. In early 1935, the case went to the Supreme Court. Edwards describes FDR's rancorous clashes with conservative Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, a confrontation that threatened to finish the New Deal for good--and that led to FDR's attempt to pack the court in 1937. At a time when several major economies never approached the brink of default or devaluing or recalling currencies, American Default is a timely account of a little-known yet drastic experiment with these policies, the inevitable backlash, and the ultimate result."--

JSTOR

22573/ctvc60j5w

American default.

9780691161884

Untold story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the battle over gold

Untold story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Supreme Court, and the battle over gold

Default (Finance)

Depreciation-- United States-- History-- 20th century.

New Deal, 1933-1939.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS-- Economic History.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS-- Economics-- General.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS-- Reference.

Default (Finance)

Depreciation.

New Deal, 1933-1939

United States.

7

BUS-- 023000

BUS-- 045000

BUS-- 055000

BUS-- 069000

POL-- 023000

POL-- 028000

Edwards, Sebastian,1953-

20200822181429.0

pn

[Book]

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