FDR’s Gold Heist

To support the country as the Great Depression dragged on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt needed more paper currency flowing into the nation’s wallet. Unfortunately, the government couldn’t print more money unless it held a certain quantity of gold in its reserves.

Roosevelt signed an executive order in 1933 compelling American citizens to trade in their gold for cash within a month or face penalties. Many people who didn’t cooperate were arrested, and companies had their gold reserves seized.

The restrictions on how much gold citizens could own were eventually relaxed in 1974.