We are unclear when it happened. My thinking is that the event that bankrupted the USA was the civil war, and so I like 1871 as the year. It seems the bankists had complete control by the 1873 coinage act that ended bimetallism, which the bankists hated, and put the US under the “cross of gold” (a phrase describing how gold’s scarcity requires paper money which ultimately benefits the bankists by encouraging money printing; bimetallism encourages metal coins and obviates the need for paper).
We are unclear when it happened. My thinking is that the event that bankrupted the USA was the civil war, and so I like 1871 as the year. It seems the bankists had complete control by the 1873 coinage act that ended bimetallism, which the bankists hated, and put the US under the “cross of gold” (a phrase describing how gold’s scarcity requires paper money which ultimately benefits the bankists by encouraging money printing; bimetallism encourages metal coins and obviates the need for paper).
Thanks for your reply!