Answer · confidence: partial
What happened when the US left gold, in 1933 and 1971?
Research question: What happened when the US left the gold standard (1933 and 1971), as reported at the time?
The records show that in 1933 the United States effectively left the gold standard by banning private gold ownership and setting the dollar's exchange rate at 35 dollars per fine ounce of gold 10. That departure allowed the US to fight the Great Depression by expanding the money supply and through competitive devaluation 13. In 1971, Richard Nixon halted the nominal gold convertibility of the dollar on 15 August, an event known as the 'Nixon Shock' 156. The Italian press initially saw the move as protectionist and a repeat of Roosevelt's 1932 suspension, calling it an 'economic bomb' 16. Italy's central bank ordered foreign exchange offices to suspend currency market operations the next day 7, and American tourists there ran short of money because they could not exchange their dollars 11. The move was accompanied by a 10% surtax on imported manufactured goods 14 and ended the era of fixed exchange rates, starting the era of floating rates 18. The facts give contemporary-style reporting only for 1971, and the 1933 account comes from a general reference entry rather than period press coverage, so the answer covers the events but not how they were reported at the time in 1933; the newest fact is from a 2025 source.
Checked 2026-10-19. Only documented and supported facts are used.
Dig deeper on this questionSources
[1] supported
The collapse of the Bretton Woods system indicated that the economic power distribution supporting it in the late 1940s no longer existed in the early 1970s.
"The collapse of the Bretton Woods system indicated that its structure had been based on a distribution of economic power that prevailed in the late 1940s but no longer existed in the early 1970s."American Power and the Collapse of the Bretton Woods System (2024)
[2] documented
The Bretton Woods System collapsed in less than 30 years after its founding in 1944.
"Since there were various limitations that existed in the inherent structure of the system and the U.S.’s inabilities to master the global market, the Bretton Woods System collapsed in less than 30 years."U.S. Monetary Hegemony after the Collapse of the Bretton Woods System (2022)
[3] supported
Although the Bretton Woods System ended in 1971, the U.S. retained its dollar hegemony and monetary supremacy.
"Nevertheless, though the Bretton Woods System ended in 1971, the U.S. did not lose its dollar hegemony and still owned considerable advantages in its monetary supremacy."U.S. Monetary Hegemony after the Collapse of the Bretton Woods System (2022)
[4] documented
The Bretton Woods system established monetary connections between the U.S. and countries including Canada, Australia, and most Western European countries.
"The Bretton Woods system (1944) founded inextricable monetary connections between the U.S. and many countries around the world, including Canada, Australia, and most Western European countries."U.S. Monetary Hegemony after the Collapse of the Bretton Woods System (2022)
[5] supported
The Bretton Woods system collapsed in August 1971 when President Nixon suspended the gold convertibility of the dollar.
"The Bretton Woods system collapsed in August 1971 when President Nixon suspended the gold convertibility of the dollar."The Bretton Woods System as a Gold Exchange Standard (1995)
[6] supported
President Richard Nixon suspended gold convertibility of the dollar on August 15, 1971, after France and Britain moved in early August to convert their dollars into gold.
"The decision to suspend gold convertibility by President Richard Nixon on August 15 1971 was triggered by French and British intentions in early August to convert dollars into gold."The Operation and Demise of the Bretton Woods System; 1958 to 1971 (2017)
[7] supported
On 16 August 1971, the Bank of Italy's Director General Paolo Baffi ordered foreign exchange offices nationwide to suspend all currency market operations, a day after Nixon ended dollar convertibility into gold.
"On the morning of 16 August 1971, the Director General of the Bank of Italy Paolo Baffi instructed the foreign exchange offices throughout the country to suspend all currency market operations."The End of Dollar Convertibility. 15 August 1971. The ‘Italian Proposal’ for a New Bretton Woods (2025)
[8] supported
Nixon's suspension of dollar gold convertibility was a substantial blow to the international monetary system of the postwar years.
"Its suspension was therefore a substantial blow to the international monetary system of the postwar years."The Bretton Woods System as a Gold Exchange Standard (1995)
[9] supported
After the Gold Pool collapsed in 1968, the world had switched to a de facto dollar standard, though gold convertibility still played a role as a threat.
"The world had switched to a de facto dollar standard. However gold convertibility still played a role."The Operation and Demise of the Bretton Woods System; 1958 to 1971 (2017)
[10] supported
In 1933 the United States effectively left the gold standard by banning private gold ownership and setting the dollar's exchange rate arbitrarily at 35 dollars per fine ounce of gold.
"Auch die USA lösten sich 1933 faktisch vom Goldstandard, indem der private Goldbesitz verboten und der Wechselkurs willkürlich auf 35 Dollar je Feinunze Gold festgesetzt wurde."Bretton-Woods-System
[11] supported
With the dollar no longer convertible, US tourists visiting Italy ran short of money because they could not exchange their dollars ('greenbacks').
"With the currency conversion parameter gone, US tourists visiting Italy found themselves short of money due to the impossibility of exchanging 'greenbacks'."The End of Dollar Convertibility. 15 August 1971. The ‘Italian Proposal’ for a New Bretton Woods (2025)
[12] supported
After the collapse, a floating exchange-rate system replaced Bretton Woods and had survived for nearly two decades by the time of the source.
"Compared with the floating exchange-rate system, which has survived for nearly two decades, the Bretton Woods system seems to have had greater potential weakness, which led to its collapse."The Bretton Woods System as a Gold Exchange Standard (1995)
[13] supported
The 1933 departure from gold allowed the US to fight the Great Depression by expanding the money supply and through competitive devaluation.
"Dies erlaubte den USA, die Große Depression im Land durch eine Ausweitung der Geldmenge und eine kompetitive Abwertung zu bekämpfen."Bretton-Woods-System
[14] documented
Nixon's measure was accompanied by a 10% surtax on manufactured goods imported from abroad and tax concessions at home to promote domestic investment.
"Nixon's measure went hand in hand with a 10% surtax on manufactured goods imported from abroad and a series of tax concessions at home to promote domestic investment."The End of Dollar Convertibility. 15 August 1971. The ‘Italian Proposal’ for a New Bretton Woods (2025)
[15] supported
Richard Nixon halted the nominal gold convertibility of the dollar on 15 August 1971, an event known as the 'Nixon Shock'.
"Der damalige US-Präsident Richard Nixon stoppte am 15. August 1971 die nominale Goldbindung des Dollar („ Nixon-Schock “)."Bretton-Woods-System
[16] supported
The Italian press initially saw the move as protectionist and as a repeat of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 suspension of the gold exchange standard, and it was described as an 'economic bomb' dropped on the world economy.
"What the Italian press considered a protectionist move, a replay of suspension of the gold exchange standard sanctioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, turned out to be an 'economic bomb' dropped by Washington on the world economy."The End of Dollar Convertibility. 15 August 1971. The ‘Italian Proposal’ for a New Bretton Woods (2025)
[17] supported
After the countries abandoned the gold standard in the 1930s, the world effectively moved to a system of flexible exchange rates.
"Es lösten sich in der Folge fast alle Länder von dem Goldstandard, der – bei ausreichender Golddeckung – ein System fester Wechselkurse zur Folge hat. Es entstand faktisch ein System flexibler Wechselkurse ."Bretton-Woods-System
[18] supported
The end of dollar convertibility ended the era of fixed exchange rates and started the era of floating exchange rates.
"It ended the era of fixed exchange rates and began that of floating rates, while the dollars accumulated as reserve currency over the previous twenty-five years became the vehicle for an unstoppable financialisation of the economy."The End of Dollar Convertibility. 15 August 1971. The ‘Italian Proposal’ for a New Bretton Woods (2025)