[CobaltBlue]

Some of the things FDR did were good. Shutting down all the insolvent banks, even the state banks, was probably the best. When FDR took office, he declared a Bank Holiday, and sent teams of auditors all over the country. Only solvent banks could re-open. The Great Depression turned around right then and there.

Unfortunately, it had a long way to go.

Sowell is right that the Federal Reserve did raise interest rates again and put the country back into depression circa 1936, but that was due to trying to maintain the US gold supply. There just wasn't enough gold in the whole world to have gold-backed money without deflation and depression.

It's possible that letting the gold/dollar ratio "float" would have worked, but they've never done that. The "gold standard" gold/dollar-gold/pound ratio has always been dictated by central bankers.

[steve50]

Goggle Louis T. McFadden and read the speech he gave to congress in 33. The week of 3 attempts on his life, the third being sucessful.