Gold Standard Act: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1900 U.S. legislation which established gold as the standard for the U.S. dollar}} |
{{Short description|1900 U.S. legislation which established gold as the standard for the U.S. dollar}} |
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{{Infobox U.S. legislation |
{{Infobox U.S. legislation |
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| shorttitle = Gold Standard Act |
| shorttitle = Gold Standard Act |
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| passedbody1 = House |
| passedbody1 = House |
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| passeddate1 = December 18, 1899 |
| passeddate1 = December 18, 1899 |
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| passedvote1 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/h5 |
| passedvote1 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/h5 192–152] |
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| passedbody2 = |
| passedbody2 = |
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| passedbody3 = Senate |
| passedbody3 = Senate |
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| passeddate3 = March 6, 1900 |
| passeddate3 = March 6, 1900 |
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| passedvote3 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/s21 |
| passedvote3 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/s21 44–26] |
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| agreedbody3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee --> |
| agreedbody3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee --> |
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| agreeddate3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee --> |
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| passedbody4 = House |
| passedbody4 = House |
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| passeddate4 = March 13, 1900 |
| passeddate4 = March 13, 1900 |
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| passedvote4 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/h40 |
| passedvote4 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/h40 172–127] |
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| signedpresident = [[William McKinley]] |
| signedpresident = [[William McKinley]] |
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| signeddate = March 14, 1900 |
| signeddate = March 14, 1900 |
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The '''Gold Standard Act''' was an [[Law_of_the_United_States#Federal_law|Act]] of the [[United States Congress]], signed by President [[William McKinley]] and effective on March 14, 1900, defining the [[United States dollar]] by [[gold]] weight and requiring the [[United States Treasury]] to redeem, on demand and in gold coin only, [[Banknotes_of_the_United_States_dollar|paper currency]] the Act specified.<ref>Including [[Gold certificate (United States)|gold certificates]], [[United States notes]], [[Treasury_Note_(1890–1891)|Treasury notes]], and later [[Federal Reserve notes]], but excluding [[Silver certificate (United States)|silver certificates]] and [[National Bank Note|National Bank notes]] which were secured by government bonds issuing national banks had deposited with the Treasury. Though the Act did not require national banks to redeem their issued National Bank notes in gold coin, ordinarily they would, as might other banks.</ref> |
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The '''Gold Standard Act''' of the [[United States]] was passed in 1900 (approved on March 14) and established [[gold]] as the only standard for redeeming [[paper money]], stopping [[bimetallism]] (which had allowed [[silver]] in exchange for gold). It was signed by President [[William McKinley]]. |
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The Act formalized the American [[gold standard]] that the [[Coinage Act of 1873]], which demonetized silver, and the [[Specie Payment Resumption Act|Resumption Act of 1875]], which made all legal tender notes redeemable in gold at the Treasury, had established by default.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taussig |first=F. W. |date=1900 |title=The Currency Act of 1900 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1882566 |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=394–415 |doi=10.2307/1882566 |jstor=1882566 |issn=0033-5533}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Falkner |first=Roland P. |date=1900 |title=The Currency Law of 1900 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1009440 |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=16 |pages=33–55 |issn=0002-7162}}</ref> Before and after the Act, silver currency including [[Silver certificate (United States)|silver certificates]] and the [[Dollar_coin_(United_States)|silver dollar]] circulated at face value as fiat currency not redeemable for gold.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Joseph French|date=1900|title=The Currency Act of March 14, 1900|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2140799|journal=Political Science Quarterly|volume=15|issue=3|pages=482–507|doi=10.2307/2140799|jstor=2140799|issn=0032-3195}}</ref> |
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The Act made the ''[[de facto]]'' gold standard in place since the [[Coinage Act of 1873]] (whereby debt holders could demand reimbursement in whatever metal was preferred—usually gold) a ''[[de jure]]'' gold standard alongside other major European powers at the time. |
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The Act fixed the value of |
The Act fixed the value of one dollar at 25.8 [[grain (unit)|grain]]s of 90% pure gold, equivalent to about $20.67 per [[troy weight|troy ounce]], very near its [[Coinage_Act_of_1834|historic value]]. American [[Double_eagle|circulating gold coins of the period]] comprised an alloy of 90% gold and 10% copper for durability. |
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After the realigning [[1932_United_States_elections|election of 1932]] following the onset of the [[Great Depression]], from March 1933 the gold standard was abandoned, and the Act abrogated, by a coordinated series of policy changes including [[Executive_order|executive orders]] by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Federal Reserve|title=Roosevelt's Gold Program|url=https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/roosevelts-gold-program}}</ref> new laws,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wikisource|title=Joint Resolution of June 5, 1933|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gold_Repeal_Joint_Resolution}}</ref> and controversial [[Gold_Clause_Cases|Supreme Court rulings]]. |
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The Gold Standard Act confirmed the United States' commitment to the [[gold standard]] by assigning gold a specific dollar value (just over $20.67 per [[Troy weight|Troy]] [[ounce]]). This took place after McKinley sent a team to Europe to try to make a silver agreement with France and Great Britain. |
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After [[World War II]] international agreements comprising the [[Bretton Woods system]] formally restored foreign central banks' ability to exchange United States dollars for gold at a fixed price. World trade growth increasingly stressed this system, which was abandoned in the [[Nixon shock]] of 1971.<ref>{{cite book |last=James Stuart Olson |title=Historical Dictionary of the Great Depression, 1929–1940 |page=131 }}</ref> Attempts to reform the Bretton Woods system quickly proved unworkable and failed. All modern currencies thus became fiat currencies freely floating and subject to market forces despite capital controls imposed by some central banks, with gold as a [[commodity]].{{dubious|date=June 2024|modern currencies}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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* {{cite book|last=Allen|first=Larry|title=The Encyclopedia of Money|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediamone00alle|url-access=limited|year=2009|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|edition=2nd|place=[[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara, CA]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediamone00alle/page/n201 183]–185|isbn=978-1598842517}} |
* {{cite book|last=Allen|first=Larry|title=The Encyclopedia of Money|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediamone00alle|url-access=limited|year=2009|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|edition=2nd|place=[[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara, CA]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediamone00alle/page/n201 183]–185|isbn=978-1598842517}} |
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* {{cite thesis |type=Ph.D.|last=McCulley|first=Richard T.|title=The Origins of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913: Banks and Politics during the Progressive Era, 1897–1913|publisher=University of Texas|year=1980}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.enotes.com/major-acts-congress/gold-standard-act Gold Standard Act of 1900] (discussion) |
*[http://www.enotes.com/major-acts-congress/gold-standard-act Gold Standard Act of 1900] (discussion) |
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{{Money and central banking within the contemporary United States (pre–1913)}} |
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{{Federal Reserve System}} |
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{{William McKinley}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:1900 in American law]] |
[[Category:1900 in American law]] |
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[[Category:March 1900 events]] |
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[[Category:Gold legislation]] |
[[Category:Gold legislation]] |
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[[Category:Gold in the United States]] |
[[Category:Gold in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Presidency of William McKinley]] |
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Latest revision as of 17:02, 21 July 2024
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to define and fix the standard of value, to maintain the parity of all forms of money issued or coined by the United States, to refund the public debt, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Gold Standard Act of 1900 |
| Enacted by | the 56th United States Congress |
| Effective | March 14, 1900 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub. L. 56–41 |
| Statutes at Large | 31 Stat. 45 |
| Legislative history | |
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The Gold Standard Act was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President William McKinley and effective on March 14, 1900, defining the United States dollar by gold weight and requiring the United States Treasury to redeem, on demand and in gold coin only, paper currency the Act specified.[1]
The Act formalized the American gold standard that the Coinage Act of 1873, which demonetized silver, and the Resumption Act of 1875, which made all legal tender notes redeemable in gold at the Treasury, had established by default.[2][3] Before and after the Act, silver currency including silver certificates and the silver dollar circulated at face value as fiat currency not redeemable for gold.[4]
The Act fixed the value of one dollar at 25.8 grains of 90% pure gold, equivalent to about $20.67 per troy ounce, very near its historic value. American circulating gold coins of the period comprised an alloy of 90% gold and 10% copper for durability.
After the realigning election of 1932 following the onset of the Great Depression, from March 1933 the gold standard was abandoned, and the Act abrogated, by a coordinated series of policy changes including executive orders by President Franklin D. Roosevelt,[5] new laws,[6] and controversial Supreme Court rulings.
After World War II international agreements comprising the Bretton Woods system formally restored foreign central banks' ability to exchange United States dollars for gold at a fixed price. World trade growth increasingly stressed this system, which was abandoned in the Nixon shock of 1971.[7] Attempts to reform the Bretton Woods system quickly proved unworkable and failed. All modern currencies thus became fiat currencies freely floating and subject to market forces despite capital controls imposed by some central banks, with gold as a commodity.[dubious – discuss]
See also
[edit]
- Double eagle, one of a variety of U.S. gold coins minted in dollar units at $20.67/ounce
- Gold standard
- Specie Payment Resumption Act
- Bland–Allison Act
- Sherman Silver Purchase Act
References
[edit]- ^ Including gold certificates, United States notes, Treasury notes, and later Federal Reserve notes, but excluding silver certificates and National Bank notes which were secured by government bonds issuing national banks had deposited with the Treasury. Though the Act did not require national banks to redeem their issued National Bank notes in gold coin, ordinarily they would, as might other banks.
- ^ Taussig, F. W. (1900). "The Currency Act of 1900". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 14 (3): 394–415. doi:10.2307/1882566. ISSN 0033-5533. JSTOR 1882566.
- ^ Falkner, Roland P. (1900). "The Currency Law of 1900". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 16: 33–55. ISSN 0002-7162.
- ^ Johnson, Joseph French (1900). "The Currency Act of March 14, 1900". Political Science Quarterly. 15 (3): 482–507. doi:10.2307/2140799. ISSN 0032-3195. JSTOR 2140799.
- ^ Federal Reserve. "Roosevelt's Gold Program".
- ^ Wikisource. "Joint Resolution of June 5, 1933".
- ^ James Stuart Olson. Historical Dictionary of the Great Depression, 1929–1940. p. 131.
Further reading
[edit]- Allen, Larry (2009). The Encyclopedia of Money (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 183–185. ISBN 978-1598842517.
- McCulley, Richard T. (1980). The Origins of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913: Banks and Politics during the Progressive Era, 1897–1913 (Ph.D.). University of Texas.
External links
[edit]- Gold Standard Act (text of the Act)
- Gold Standard Act of 1900 (discussion)
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