Nixon shock

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/nixon-shock

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the date of presidential decree?August 15, 1971
2. What is the underlying economic factors?Rising inflation, US trade deficits, depletion of gold reserves, and speculative pressures
3. What was the Nixon Shock and why did President Nixon do it?In 1971, President Nixon stopped the U.S. dollar from being exchanged for gold. He did this because the dollar was losing value from war spending and trade problems.
4. How did the Nixon Shock change the way countries trade money?It ended the old system where many currencies were tied to the dollar and to gold. Afterward, countries could set their own currency values based on supply and demand.

Triffin Dilemma: The inherent conflict in a country issuing the world's reserve currency, leading to potential balance of payments crises.
Floating Exchange Rate: An exchange rate determined by the market forces of supply and demand, fluctuating freely.
Speculative Attack: A situation where investors rapidly sell a currency, expecting its value to fall, thereby causing it to fall.