American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold by Sebastian Edwards explores a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court decision addressing whether the deviation from the gold standard was constitutional given widely used contractual clauses calling for loan repayment in gold.

A treasure trove for the economic historian, the book tells us how the United States got out of the Great Depression, how the long-running national debate over gold versus silver was resolved, and how the monetary policy put in place in the 1930s remains in effect today. American Default also provides great insight into the legal arguments of an important yet long-forgotten Supreme Court case that has not been given such an in-depth analysis until now.

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Note: This book review was published by Washington Lawyer and is reposted with permission.