So you're referring to the end of the Bretton Woods System, which is its formal name. > The US cheated by printing more IOUs than the amount of gold it had. F

So you're referring to the end of the Bretton Woods System, which is its formal name. > The US cheated by printing more IOUs than the amount of gold it had. From the article you posted, it looks like the US was dealing with an issue whereby their reduction in global output meant that a reducing demand for dollars could cause a run on gold. I don't know if I would characterise this as "cheating" per se. The article states that there were many efforts, jointly between the US and other countries, to maintain the system, but these ultimately failed. So I don't really get how this backs your claim that the US cheated? Sure it was controversial, and I'm sure there were many peoole who were unhappy about it, but it looks like they had little choice, given the system was failing and they were dealing with an extraordinary inflation crisis to boot.