Golden History
Back in the 1930’s the price of gold was raised and frozen in 1934 from $20.67 to $35 per troy ounce. The power to control gold, including its price, was given to the Secretary of the treasury by the gold reserve of 1934.
A decade later, from July 1 to July 22 in 1944, the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. This was an invitation of former President F. D. Roosevelt made to 44 other nations who participated under the leadership of the Secretary of Treasury, back then, Henry Morgan Plaut Jr.
The purpose of this meeting was to formulate definite proposals for an international monetary fund (IMF) and international Bank for Reconstruction and development. In 1944, the United States held 60% of the world’s known gold reserve and was one of the most financially and economically powerful countries in the world. It was The Bretton Woods IMF articles of agreement on July 1944, which stated in article 4, section 1. “Expression of par values – a par value of the currency of each member shall be expressed in terms of gold as a common denominator or in terms of the United States dollar of the way in finance”. In short terms, as of the existence of this document, gold has become denominator in the value of the US dollar.
Even though the price of gold was last fixed by the United States in 1934, in 1944, Harry Dexter White and others in the infamous Bretton Woods monetary agreement made the dollar and the dollar only, interchangeable with gold at $35 an ounce.
Petaquilla and Richard Fifer.
