By George F. Smith
June 27, 2026
On Sunday evening, August 15, 1971, President Nixon told the American people the U.S. would "suspend temporarily the convertibility of the dollar into gold or other reserve assets" as a means of defending the dollar against "the speculators." This was one part of his New Economic Policy, a phrase borrowed from communist Vladimir Lenin, which included a 90-day freeze on prices and wages, and a 10 percent tax on imports.