Did you know that private ownership of gold was outlawed in the 1930s? FDR ordered that gold be confiscated so that he could devalue the dollar in attempt to inflate the country out of the Depression.
The formal ban on gold ownership lasted over 40 years until President Ford lifted the law in 1975.
Here's an interesting review of the relationship between the banks runs of 1932 and FDR's ban on gold. One insight is that the bank runs were people seeking to front run the US going off the gold standard--something that FDR had publicly hinted in the months leading up to his inauguration.
In 1933 a NYC lawyer with unsurrendered gold holdings challenged the confiscation order. A Federal judge upheld the order, saying that the government was justified in compelling individuals to surrender their gold, and declared 'the right of the government to take private property of any kind when it is deemed necessary by the appropriate authority for the public good.'
Scary words for those who believe in liberty and property rights...
In any event, a bit of economic history that has some connection to what is going on right now.
position in gold
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