The Grand Duchy of Finland not only sounded the death knell of the gold standard, but also made the British a little embarrassed.

Obviously, it was the British who first proposed the currency bloc, and the first small and medium-sized country to join was actually the younger brother of Australasia.

This not only represents the extraordinary relationship between the Grand Duchy of Finland and Australasia, but also shows that the relationship between the British junior brother is not so good.

How could the British allow such a loss of face? Almost at the same time, the British government began to contact those younger brothers, putting enough pressure on themselves.

With the pressure of the British, the countries that had been slow to abandon the gold standard were moving faster in an instant.

In the second half of June 1927, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Thailand, Iran, Egypt and Greece all chose to join the GBP-AUD currency bloc, and the guns were fired around the world to abandon the gold standard.

The fact that so many countries have joined the new monetary system has naturally kept the British pound and the Australian dollar relatively stable.

Of course, such stability is only relative after all. Compared to the previous gold standard, the pound and the Australian dollar have begun to depreciate sharply.

In terms of real purchasing power, the purchasing power of one pound was basically equivalent to 7.3 grams of gold, and now the purchasing power of one pound has been reduced to 5.7 grams of gold, and it is still depreciating.

If nothing happens, the pound's real purchasing power should be at least half as much as it was before the gold standard was abandoned.

After all, the value of banknotes that cannot be exchanged for gold and relies solely on the credibility of the government is greatly reduced compared to trustworthy gold.

However, compared with the gold standard monetary system, this controlled paper money system is obviously more suitable for the development of the country.

After all, it is easier for the state to manipulate the issuance of paper money, and to achieve its own means and goals by controlling the depreciation and appreciation of the currency.

In the past, because the currency was highly pegged to gold, it was difficult to depreciate and appreciate significantly.

But now, the depreciation and appreciation of the currency can basically be determined by the amount of money printed, as well as the interest rates of the banks, and so on.

To put it simply, if there is a large amount of money circulating in the social system, the currency will depreciate.

If there is less money circulating in the social system, the currency will appreciate.

At present, if you want to calmly deal with this economic crisis, what the pound group needs to do is definitely to depreciate the currency.

After all, the entire GBP-AUD bloc also has more than a dozen countries, and there are many forces created together, and it is still possible to control the orderly depreciation of the currency, at least the depreciation of the currency will not be as chaotic as in France and become almost uncontrollable.

With the gradual depreciation of the British pound and the Australian dollar, the benefits of currency depreciation are almost clearly visible.

The first is the gradual increase in exports. After all, countries around the world now need to spend less than usual to import goods from the countries of the pound system, which is naturally more profitable for those countries that are not in the pound system.

To put it bluntly, some industrial products can be temporarily abandoned, but it is impossible for more important raw materials and mineral materials not to be consumed.

There is also food and meat, as long as there is a population, there will be food and meat consumption, which is a fact that no matter how much science and technology develop, it cannot be changed.

With the dividends of currency depreciation, Australasia's grain and meat exports rose in a short period of time, which also allowed Australasia's economy to gradually start to prosper.

After Britain gave up the gold standard, the French government naturally did not pretend, and announced in a high-profile manner that it would abandon the gold standard and set up its own franc group.

But the Franc Group has a fatal flaw, that is, the depreciation of the franc has become uncontrollable, and the purchasing power has decreased much less than before the First World War.

Even if France had its own little brother and a vast colony, it would not be possible for the franc to compete with the pound.

At present, it should be the US dollar that can barely compete with the pound, after all, the value of the US dollar is still relatively stable due to the huge US market.

But unfortunately, the current President Hoover clearly has no eyes on currency. President Hoover hasn't made any major moves since he became president.

This has also caused some dissatisfied voices among the American people, and some people are even doubting whether the Hoover President he boasted about at the beginning is so good.

In fact, there is no need for the American people to put pressure on President Hoover, and the surging unemployment in the United States has made the glorious president feel a lot of pressure.

In order to salvage his reputation among the people, President Hoover decided to temporarily abandon the laissez-faire policy and provide some relief to the people, at least to make the unemployed less angry.

But unlike other countries' direct relief efforts to provide direct relief to the unemployed, President Hoover began frequent meetings with some of the biggest names in business, labor, and politics in the United States, and finally settled on a plan that was radically different from national policy: promoting indirect relief programs through public works projects and loans to states.

At the same time, President Hoover also signed the "Smoot-Hawley Act," a promise that made him trusted by countless American voters at that time, telling Americans in this way that he President Hoover really knew how to do things.

To show his concern for Americans and his determination to manage the economic crisis, President Hoover immediately launched a plan he had written for the construction of dams in the Colorado area.

Long before the outbreak of the global war, President Hoover personally visited the Colorado area and investigated its problems and potential.

After becoming Secretary of Commerce in 1921, President Hoover proposed a dam on the Colorado River that would provide a reliable water supply to Los Angeles and Southern California, in addition to flood control and irrigation.

What's more, once the dam is built, it will be able to recoup the cost of building the dam by selling the electricity it produces for hydroelectric power.

However, President Hoover at the time was only a minor man, and the proposal was rejected by Congress many times, even if it was revised many times.

But fortunately, now that Hoover has become the president of the United States, no one can say no to Hoover's proposal, except for a few conglomerates and capitalists.

Under President Hoover's strong leadership, the construction of the dam was quickly passed, and a resolution was expected to be signed in the second half of 1927 at the earliest, and construction could begin in the first half of 1928.

The dam, which was written by President Hoover, was rightly named Hoover Dam by President Hoover.

The cost of building the entire dam is about $140 million, and the cost of the dam without the power plant and generators is about $55 million.

The passage of the Hoover Dam Act has indeed given Americans a glimmer of hope. After all, this is a massive project costing up to $140 million, which also represents the determination of the Hoover administration to deal with the economic crisis, which is different from the Coolidge administration.

Of course, there is another important reason why Congress was able to pass the dam so easily, and that is to mend the rift that was previously created on the east and west coasts of the United States.

A large number of unemployed people on the East Coast of the United States have gone to the West Coast, but many state governments on the West Coast have expressed their dissatisfaction with the country.

The current Hoover Dam is responsible for Los Angeles and Southern California, which is actually the equivalent of Congress courting the states on the West Coast to maintain stability throughout the United States.

If we take an afterthought from a historical point of view, the role of the Hoover Dam is still relatively obvious to the United States.

In later generations, the electricity generated by the Hoover Dam not only fully repaid the cost and interest of building the dam, but also irrigated more than 1.5 million acres of land and provided water to 16 million Americans by controlling flooding in the Colorado River.

However, it is worth considering whether the dam, which will be built in more than half a year, will bring about improvements in the United States, which is currently suffering from an economic crisis.

Naturally, Arthur was also aware of the successive actions of the US government and expressed concern about it.

Among other things, the Hoover Dam does have a positive impact on the United States, which has the potential to improve the current economic crisis in the United States.

After thinking for a moment, Arthur decided to make the United States more chaotic, lest President Hoover do something big that is not recorded in history.

You must know that although President Hoover has endured considerable infamy in American history, the evaluation of President Hoover is almost polarized.

While being named almost the worst president in the United States, some of President Hoover's political initiatives are still relatively useful.

The current development is different from history, and if President Hoover is allowed to do something that only a good president can do and maintain the unity and stability of the United States, then all the cards that Arthur prepared for war with the United States will be in vain.

However, compared with the Hoover Dam, a major project that will start construction next year, the U.S. government's monetary response is now more noteworthy.

What does the Smoot Hawley Act signed by President Hoover mean?

The simplest explanation is to raise import tariffs on agricultural products to help farmers in the United States raise their incomes.

However, this is not only the import tariff on agricultural products, but also the tariff on more than 2,000 imported goods, which have been raised to the highest level in history.

This immediately annoyed the countries that did not join the tariff hike on the United States. After all, it was the United Kingdom, led by the United Kingdom, that raised tariffs on the United States in the first place, and a large number of other countries did not participate.

Even the Americans did not spare even their allies this time, and raised tariffs on agricultural products on the island countries.

This also caused farmers in island countries, whose incomes were already relatively low, to lose some of their income, and also made island countries begin to protest against the United States.

More seriously, compared with the impact of tariff increases on imports and exports, the beggar-thy-neighbor attitude unleashed by the US government on this bill is what makes those otherwise neutral countries unhappy.

After all, everyone's original attitude was neutrality, isn't this a change of law to force all countries to the side of the UK?

Naturally, Britain would not let go of this good opportunity, and immediately launched a woo over these neutral countries.

Perhaps really tired of the attitude of the Americans, countries have retaliated against the United States, raising tariffs on all imports and exports of the United States separately, and joining the customs union formed by the British against the United States.

Such an outcome was something that the U.S. government and President Hoover did not expect, but now it is clearly irreversible.

If the U.S. government wants to sacrifice the interests of other countries in order to save its own domestic situation, then other countries will certainly not agree.

Australasia is naturally happy to see this, after all, Australasia is one of the targets of the United States' tariff increases, and who has made Australasia's grain and meat the focus of exports.

However, Arthur did not set his sights on raising tariffs on the United States, after all, it had already been raised to a rather high number.

Compared with the tariffs with the Americans, Arthur did a more decisive thing, using some American companies to woo the unemployed in the United States, and attracting a large number of unemployed Americans in a short period of time by providing work and shelter conditions.

3400 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)