FDR Questionedly About Burial: "Why, Must You Entomb Me in the Frosty, Frosty Soil?"
In the heart of the Great Depression, when the exchange of money for goods and services had slowed significantly, Franklin D. Roosevelt took a bold step to secure and protect the nation's gold. The year was 1933, and the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox in Kentucky became a living testament to the misunderstanding of the Great Depression.
Roosevelt, in an attempt to combat the economic slowdown, ordered the confiscation of gold and its burial at the United States Bullion Depository. The gold coins, a part of Americans' day-to-day lives for generations, were handed in during this confiscation. The United States Mint-issued coins, including Eagles and Double Eagles, were surrendered to the federal government in exchange for $20 bills.
The gold coins that had smoothed commerce and served as a tool for investment were melted into bars, stamped with a number, and buried in the ground. This move was controversial, and the question "What gives?" can still be asked about this confiscation.
Prior to 1933, the United States had no income tax, and the top rate of that tax the year before, in 1932, had gone up one-and-a-half fold. The consensus that the United States should have low taxes and stable money was shot to smithereens by the unbelievable policy developments of 1929-33. The biggest tariff in history came into its own during this period, and local property taxes soared truly off the charts in the early 1930s.
The economic recovery after 1933 was sharp, but President Roosevelt himself did not think so, as private production and employment were still below precedent. Despite this, he broke precedent for a third term in 1940, knowing he would be remembered as the president who failed to solve the Depression.
The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox was opened in 1936, and the gold bars within came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's gold confiscation of 1933. The gold confiscated by Roosevelt was owned by countless Americans across the country.
Today, the gold at Fort Knox stands as a monument to questionable thinking about a grave issue. Some argue that the feds should consider selling off the gold as a means to move past this historical misstep. Regardless, the story of the gold confiscation remains a fascinating chapter in the history of the Great Depression.
For a more in-depth look into this historical event, readers are encouraged to refer to the book "Free Money".
