Could US History Repeat Itself During These Economic Troubles?By Jack Swint - Publisher ... WestVirginiaNews@gmail.com
Does this sound familiar??…. “Banks are closing their doors, thousands of well known businesses filing for bankruptcy protection, the stock and job markets are at an all time low and the President has one very tough decisions to make that will change the way the US economy and the citizens of this country live for the next forty one years”….. The date, April 5th, 1933
On that date, newly inaugurated President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, which prohibited the “hoarding” of gold by U.S. citizens. Americans were required to turn their gold holdings over to the federal government for just pennies on the dollar. Hard to believe such an act occurred?? And, could it happen again?
At the time, Gold coins and gold bullion were private property, just like a person’s automobile, clothing, home, and food. On the mere command of the president of the United States, federal authorities simply confiscated gold holdings that were the private property of the American people and made it a grave federal offense to own such property in the future.
Setting The Stage…
Several days after his inauguration, President Roosevelt ordered a "bank holiday" closing all the banks in the country from Monday March 6 through Thursday March 9. He proclaimed that there was a national emergency caused by "heavy and unwarranted withdrawals of gold and currency." Roosevelt called it "hoarding" by the American public to make it seem like evil or immature behavior. It was the typical politician's ploy of blaming the government's woes on the people's vices.
On March 9, 1933 the Senate passed the “Emergency Banking Act” after very little debate. Reportedly, congress then passed it in 38 minutes without any of them actually getting a chance to read it. This gave the Secretary of the Treasury the power to compel every person and business in the country to relinquish their gold and accept paper currency in exchange at a much lower valued rate.
This also gave FDR unlimited power during times of war or a declared national emergency, such as the Great Depression. Those powers could not be taken away unless the President decided that the national emergency was over.
Penalties For Hoarding Gold….
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Pursuant to Roosevelt’s executive order, anyone caught violating the law was subject to a federal felony conviction, 10 years’ confinement in a federal penitentiary, and a $10,000 fine. Soon after the confiscation, U.S. officials announced that the government would sell its gold in international markets for $35 an ounce, thereby devaluing the dollar by almost 70 percent and immediately earning a potential profit of almost $15 an ounce on the gold it had confiscated.
.Does this sound familiar??…. “Banks are closing their doors, thousands of well known businesses filing for bankruptcy protection, the stock and job markets are at an all time low and the President has one very tough decisions to make that will change the way the US economy and the citizens of this country live for the next forty one years”….. The date, April 5th, 1933
On that date, newly inaugurated President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, which prohibited the “hoarding” of gold by U.S. citizens. Americans were required to turn their gold holdings over to the federal government for just pennies on the dollar. Hard to believe such an act occurred?? And, could it happen again?
At the time, Gold coins and gold bullion were private property, just like a person’s automobile, clothing, home, and food. On the mere command of the president of the United States, federal authorities simply confiscated gold holdings that were the private property of the American people and made it a grave federal offense to own such property in the future.
Setting The Stage…
Several days after his inauguration, President Roosevelt ordered a "bank holiday" closing all the banks in the country from Monday March 6 through Thursday March 9. He proclaimed that there was a national emergency caused by "heavy and unwarranted withdrawals of gold and currency." Roosevelt called it "hoarding" by the American public to make it seem like evil or immature behavior. It was the typical politician's ploy of blaming the government's woes on the people's vices.
On March 9, 1933 the Senate passed the “Emergency Banking Act” after very little debate. Reportedly, congress then passed it in 38 minutes without any of them actually getting a chance to read it. This gave the Secretary of the Treasury the power to compel every person and business in the country to relinquish their gold and accept paper currency in exchange at a much lower valued rate.
This also gave FDR unlimited power during times of war or a declared national emergency, such as the Great Depression. Those powers could not be taken away unless the President decided that the national emergency was over.
Penalties For Hoarding Gold….
.
Pursuant to Roosevelt’s executive order, anyone caught violating the law was subject to a federal felony conviction, 10 years’ confinement in a federal penitentiary, and a $10,000 fine. Soon after the confiscation, U.S. officials announced that the government would sell its gold in international markets for $35 an ounce, thereby devaluing the dollar by almost 70 percent and immediately earning a potential profit of almost $15 an ounce on the gold it had confiscated.
Now the only people with a claim to gold in the Treasury were foreigners holding dollars. On January 31, 1934, Roosevelt issued another Executive Order. Here he declared that the dollar was now only 59.06% of its former gold quantum of 23.22 grains. Now the dollar was only worth 13.71 grains of gold.
.The Executive Order of the Emergency Banking Act was finally repealed by President Gerald Ford on December 31, 1974. This allowed Americans to once again purchase gold, as Congress had restored Americans' right to own gold. Prior to that, President Nixon declared that the Dollar no longer would be backed by gold on August 15, 1971.
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Would Americans today allow history to repeat itself?? Probably not. And, at this time, the economy hasn't reached the same catastrophic lows that occurred during the depression. Several people we spoke with stated they believe riots and all out civil unrest would occur. As one person put it, who’s going to want to give up their “BLING.”
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Would Americans today allow history to repeat itself?? Probably not. And, at this time, the economy hasn't reached the same catastrophic lows that occurred during the depression. Several people we spoke with stated they believe riots and all out civil unrest would occur. As one person put it, who’s going to want to give up their “BLING.”
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Executive Order 6102 (actual copy)
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FDR's First 100 Days (pictures & info)
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Jack Swint, Publisher
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3 comments:
I did not know about this....but, they can have my "bling" when they can pry it from my cold-dead fingers
Hey, lets not give the government any ideas!
Hey, lets not give the government any ideas!
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