Dollar Dependence on the Fourth of July "...Has the United
States confused the cause and effect of monetary vs. military
dominance? To mark Independence Day 2007, let's count the
cost..." ON THIS Fourth of July - and with the Dollar trading at
a 26-year low against the British Pound - it's worth remembering
that both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington implored the
United States to avoid foreign entanglements. Back then,
however, Great Britain still ruled the world (if no longer the
Colonies) and the Founding Fathers never guessed the Republic
would one day have to defend the Dollar's "reserve currency"
status worldwide. One hundred years later, Britain's global
domination seemed to prove a link between military power and
monetary might. London's gunboat diplomacy of the late 19th
century was matched for success by the Gold Standard backing its
money. By 1868, only Portugal, Egypt, Canada, Chile and
Australia had joined Great Britain in fixing the value of their
currencies to a certain quantity of gold. So