2025-04-26
46 分钟Gold has regained its shine.
This week, its price hit an all-time high.
People snatch it up when they sense risk elsewhere.
That was the case during the Great Depression.
Thousands of banks were going bust, so Americans were hoarding the stuff.
At the time, the Federal Reserve was required to hold 40% of the currency in gold in its vaults.
People could swap gold for cash.
The price?
$20.67 per ounce.
Gold backed the dollar, the gold standard.
But in March 1933, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ran out.
Its vault, 80 feet below street level, was empty.
President Franklin Roosevelt stepped in and suspended all banking in the country.
It was among the many executive actions he took to get the country out of the depression.
And it was his second day in office.
FDR was the first president to mention the 100 days period at the start of a presidency.
And he set the standard for the flurry of actions his successors have taken.
I'm John Prudhoe, and this is Checks and Balance from The Economist.
Each week, we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.
Today, taking stock of Donald Trump's second first 100 days.