Changes

The European powers, especially France, proposed immediate agreement on currency stabilization under a gold standard. The head of the U.S. delegation Secretary of State Cordell Hull  worked out a compromise to stabilize the US dollar, the British pound and the French frank.  On July 3 FDR without warning issued a statement that rejected the compromise and destroyed the conference. He refused to renounce freedom to devalue the dollar, insisting that its purchasing power, not its gold content, needed stabilizing. Hull was humiliated. Another delegate, Senator Key Pittman of the silver mining state of Nevada spent his time trying to arrange subsidies for the silver industry.  The conference adjourned July 28, a total failure.  

The European powers, especially France, proposed immediate agreement on currency stabilization under a gold standard. The head of the U.S. delegation Secretary of State Cordell Hull  worked out a compromise to stabilize the US dollar, the British pound and the French frank.  On July 3 FDR without warning issued a statement that rejected the compromise and destroyed the conference. He refused to renounce freedom to devalue the dollar, insisting that its purchasing power, not its gold content, needed stabilizing. Hull was humiliated. Another delegate, Senator Key Pittman of the silver mining state of Nevada spent his time trying to arrange subsidies for the silver industry.  The conference adjourned July 28, a total failure.  

Historians have long been puzzled as to Roosevelt’s motivation in killing the conference--he had consulted with no one.  The general assumption is that he believed the U.S. was tired of international activity, especially since the system of repayment of World War I loans to the U.S. had broken down.  Roosevelt feared that an international agreement might prevent him from taking the U.S. off the gold standard and limit his flexibility to inflate the dollar.

Historians have long been puzzled as to Roosevelt’s motivation in killing the conference--he had consulted with no one.  The general assumption is that he believed the U.S. was tired of international activity, especially since the system of repayment of World War I loans to the U.S. had broken down.  Roosevelt feared that an international agreement might prevent him from taking the U.S. off the gold standard and limit his flexibility to inflate the dollar.

Roosevelt’s erratic actions alienated many of his supporters. For example, James P. Warburg, head of one of the great New York banking houses, was one of the few Wall Streeters to join the [[New Deal]]. FDR put him in charge of planning the American role at the conference. FDR’s rejection of the gold standard alienated Warburg, who became the first of many to break with the administration. A successful polemicist and writer, Warburg became a leading spokesman for the conservative Liberty League.  

Roosevelt’s erratic actions alienated many of his supporters. For example, James P. Warburg, head of one of the great New York banking houses, was one of the few Wall Streeters to join the [[New Deal]]. FDR put him in charge of planning the American role at the conference. FDR’s rejection of the gold standard alienated Warburg, who became the first of many to break with the administration. A successful polemicist and writer, Warburg became a leading spokesman for the conservative Liberty League.