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    American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold
    American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold
    American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold
    Audiobook9 hours

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

    Written by Sebastian Edwards

    Narrated by Timothy Andres Pabon

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 18, 2018
    ISBN9781541445246

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    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      clarified the ignorance of the American people. To allow themselves to become the prey of the US bureaucrats and pols.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      In 1935 America defaulted on its debts. Not default in the sense of not paying its obligations, but default in not paying per the terms of the obligation.When FDR removed the US from the gold standard, and devalued the dollar from about $20 per ounce to $35 per ounce there was another problem, the gold clause. Many contracts, including private financial obligations and government debt, had gold clauses that called for payment in gold or dollars equivalent to the $/gold rate of $20/ounce. Abandoning the gold standard required eliminating the gold clause. Of course, holders of debt sued and four cases wound up at the Supreme Court. Regarding private debts, the court ruled the Congress had the ability to declare what was money so debt holders were out of luck. Regarding the government debt the Court pulled a Marbury v Madison, ruling the government couldn’t pay in depreciated Dollars, but since purchasing power fell as much as prices, there was no damage.It is a fascinating case in US history, well told by Edwards and the rulings remind me of McDougall’s notion that Americans, when push comes to shove, are more practical than idealistic and will accept violating laws and norms willingly as long as the outcome is beneficial.