The gold standard was suspended twice during World War I, once fully and then for foreign exchange. At the onset of the war, US corporations had large debts payable to European entities, who began liquidating their debts in gold. With debts looming to Europe, the dollar to British pound exchange rate reached as high as $6.75, far above the (gold) parity of $4.8665. This caused large gold outflows until July 31, 1914 when the New York Stock Exchange closed and the gold standard was temporarily suspended. In order to defend the exchange value of the dollar, the US Treasury Department authorized state and nationally-charted banks to issue emergency currency under the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, and the newly-created Federal Reserve organized a fund to assure debts to foreign creditors. These efforts were largely successful, and the Aldrich-Vreeland notes were retired starting in November and the gold standard was restored when the New York Stock Exchange re-opened in December 1914.[2]
As the United States remained neutral in the war, it remained the only country to maintain its gold standard, doing so without restriction on import or export of gold from 1915-1917. During the participation of the US as a belligerent, President Wilson banned gold export, thereby suspending the gold standard for foreign exchange. After the war, European countries slowly returned to their gold standards, though in somewhat altered form.[2][3]
Lots of government fiscal, monetary and regime uncertainty there, plus the Fed and the income tax.
Anyways, the point is the 98 percent decrease, over time, of the value of a dollar, to now were there is thought that the dollar itself is the last backstop.
My feeling that at the TBTF level, Fedgov, FR, big banks, the name of the game is if THEY are losing, change the rules until they win. Everyone else take the hindmost.
You hate Wiki??
I seem to remember you called ANYONE who used Wiki, a commie.