1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: The Stay in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello everybody, I'm Eves and you're tuned into 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: this Day in History Class, a show where we travel 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: back in time, one day at a time. Today it's March. 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: The day was March fourteen, nine hundred. US President William 6 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: McKinley signed the Gold Standard Act, which made gold the 7 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: soul standard for redeeming paper money. The Gold Reserve Act 8 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: of nineteen thirty four transferred gold and gold certificates from 9 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: the Federal Reserve Bank to the U. S. Treasury. Gold 10 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: and silver have long been monetary standards around the world. 11 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: The Coinage Act of seventewo made the US silver dollar 12 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: the country's standard unit of money, penning its value to 13 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: the value of the Spanish silver dollar. It established a 14 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: US meant or a place where coins are made, and 15 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: it regulated the coins of the U S. Coins were 16 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: minted from gold, silver, and copper. The Act also established 17 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: a decimal system for US currency. It allowed people to 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: have gold or silver bullion coined at the mint or 19 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: exchange for the equivalent value of coin for free. From 20 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty one to eighteen sixty two. During the American 21 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: Civil War, the US issued demand notes, a type of 22 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,559 Speaker 1: paper money, but in eighteen sixty two, the United States Note, 23 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: also known as the Legal Tender Note, replaced demand notes. 24 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: They were issued as fiat money, or money that was 25 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: not convertible into coin or specie of equivalent value. That 26 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: meant that the money was backed only by the government's 27 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: promised to redeem them. But the National Banking Acts of 28 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three and eighteen sixty four established a national 29 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: bank system and a national currency backed by government securities 30 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: held by other banks. They also established the Office of 31 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: the Controller of the Currency. The Coinage Act of eighteen 32 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: seventy three demonetized silver, effectively ending bi metallism in the 33 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: US and putting the country on the gold standard. That 34 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,519 Speaker 1: meant that a fixed price of gold was used to 35 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: determine the value of currency. Throughout the late eighteen hundreds, 36 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: people frequently raised the issue of returning to a bimetallic 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: monetary standard when on March fourteenth, nine hundred, the Gold 38 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: Standard Act went into effect. The Gold Standard Act set 39 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: the value of gold at twenty dollars in sixty seven 40 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: cents per troy ounce. Troy Wade is a system used 41 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: mostly for precious metals and gyms that is based on 42 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: a pound of twelve ounces. The Act also valued the 43 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: dollar at twenty five point eight grains of gold. But 44 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: as the Great Depression ramped up in the early nineteen thirties, 45 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: the US put measures in place to combat its effects. 46 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: In April of nineteen thirty three, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 47 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: issued Executive Order six one o two, the Order forbade 48 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,239 Speaker 1: quote the hoarding of gold coin, gold bull yawn, and 49 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,119 Speaker 1: gold certificates within the continental United States. All people, businesses, 50 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: and banks had to deliver their gold and gold certificates 51 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: to the Federal Reserve in exchange for twenty dollars in 52 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: sixty seven cents. The next year, the Gold Reserve Act 53 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: was passed. Federal Reserve banks were ordered to hand their 54 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: supply of gold over to the U. S Treasury. Roosevelt 55 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: changed the value of gold from twenty dollars and sixty 56 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: seven cents per troy ounce to thirty five dollars per 57 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: troy ounce, which devalued the US dollar. At this point, 58 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: gold was no longer a currency in the US. It 59 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: was now a commodity. Now, the US uses Federal Reserve 60 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: notes as bank notes, though some people have suggested a 61 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: return to the goal standard. Economists suggests that this would 62 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: hurt the country's economy. I'm each deafcote and hopefully you 63 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did 64 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: yes to day. Have a hard time staying present as 65 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: you mindlessly scrolled through social media. Lucky for you, we're 66 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: stuck in the past at t d i h C 67 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Or if you want 68 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: to get a little more fancy, you can send us 69 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: an email at this Day at I heart media dot com. 70 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening, and have a fantastic twenty four 71 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: hours until we see you again. For more podcasts from 72 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: I heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 73 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.