little story the confiscation of gold in 1933 In 1933 President Roosevelt signed an executive order to require no less than in the four (4) weeks for the return of all gold held by U.S. residents. Any possession of gold coins, bullion or securities linked to gold was simply become prohibited from 1 May this year.
Imagine the context of the time. In 1933, a quarter of the workforce is unemployed (24.9%), two million Americans are homeless and the Dow Jones is trading at about a fifth of its value four years ago. And now the only tangible thing that allows individuals to maintain their purchasing power is confiscated. Prohibited. Outside the law. Hands off! The government becomes the sole owner (legal) of gold in circulation (with some exceptions, for example dentists and electricians).
Hence originated the idea? A law passed by Congress in 1917 even while the U.S. would enter the war against Germany
(Trading with the Enemy Act) , and authorized the president to "investigate, regulate and prohibit the importation, exportation, possession, smelting and allocation of gold ".
Not everyone is bent it! Here is a book that relates lighthouse
A Monetary History United States. Authors, Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz estimate that only 22% of gold in circulation was spontaneously exchanged with the authorities. Remains that the Treasury was able to collect 500 tons of gold. To put this into context, the assets of the then approaching 9000 tonnes of gold. So, about 5.5% of assets.
President Roosevelt did not stop there ... He decided, January 30, 1934, to devalue the dollar by nearly 40%, thereby fixing the price of gold for international transactions at $ 35 per ounce (a price which will remain unchanged until 1971 and the abandonment of the gold standard by Nixon). The Treasury and assets were increased by 69% in nine months. The boxes were then refilled.
The American citizen has finally found his right to own gold without restriction through the repeal by Gerald Ford on the last day of the year 1974.
The situation has changed, but whether such a constraint is always possible. Indeed, Congress passed a law in 1977 limiting the use of such extraordinary measures
(International Emergency Economic Powers) ; the possibility of forfeiture, for example, is limited only to periods when the United States would be war.
