American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle Over Gold

About this book

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 US dollar in relation to gold, effectively annulling all debt contracts. From FDR's order for Americans to sell the government all their gold holdings to the Supreme Court confrontation that threatened to finish the New Deal, American Default provides a compelling account of an economic and legal drama that embroiled a nation.

Details

Format

Hardcover

ISBN-13

9780691161884

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published

May 22, 2018

Pages

288

Weight

20.8 oz

Subject

Business & Economics