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The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Gold Standard, and the Banking Panic of 1933

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  • James L. Butkiewicz

Abstract

The banking crisis of 1933, which forced a national holiday closing the entire U.S. financial system, is often blamed on either publication of the names of banks borrowing from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a speculative run on the gold‐backed dollar due to fears that president‐elect Roosevelt would devalue the currency, or both. Evidence presented here indicates that neither factor started the final banking crisis of the depression. The Michigan bank holiday ignited the panic, resulting in a series of bank holidays and a run on the dollar. This chain of events toppled the United States financial system.

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  • James L. Butkiewicz, 1999. "The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Gold Standard, and the Banking Panic of 1933," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 66(2), pages 271-293, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:66:y:1999:i:2:p:271-293
    DOI: 10.1002/j.2325-8012.1999.tb00247.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wicker,Elmus, 1996. "The Banking Panics of the Great Depression," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521562614, September.
    2. Milton Friedman & Anna J. Schwartz, 1963. "A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number frie63-1.
    3. Donaldson, R. Glen, 1992. "Sources of panics : Evidence from the weekly data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 277-305, November.
    4. Butkiewicz James L., 1995. "The Impact of a Lender of Last Resort during the Great Depression: The Case of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 197-216, April.
    5. Wigmore, Barrie A., 1987. "Was the Bank Holiday of 1933 Caused by a Run on the Dollar?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(3), pages 739-755, September.
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