The government held the $35 per ounce price until August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon announced that the United States would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, thus completely abandoning the gold standard. read more
What FDR did was not exactly to "abandon" the gold standard, but to change its value and limit its convertibility. He changed the ratio of gold to dollars under the Gold Reserve Act of 1934. The previous value was $20.67 per troy ounce, the new value was $35.00 per troy ounce. read more
To help combat the Great Depression. Faced with mounting unemployment and spiraling deflation in the early 1930s, the U.S. government found it could do little to stimulate the economy. read more
Thus did the reporters learn Roosevelt’s intentions. The U.S. was no longer on the gold standard, except so far as receiving gold was concerned, and he meant to adopt a permanent policy of managing the quantity of the currency. read more