[April 5 is the 90th Anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order banning private ownership of gold. In this selection from Part III of America’s Money Machine: The Story of the Federal Reserve, economist Elgin Groseclose shows how FDR’s executive order was part of a larger effort to deliberately debase the dollar, drive up prices, nationalize gold markets, and default on gold-based bonds. All the while, he claimed the dollar "a generation hence" would "have the same purchasing and debt-paying power."]
Public sentiment for inflationary remedies and direct monetary management continued to outpace the Administration thinking and during the 73rd Congress numerous bills to this end were introduced. Among them was another bill, by Representative T. Alan

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