The reason people thought the gold standard was a good thing is that it was thought to maintain stable purchasing power. This obviously failed during those financial crises when gold was hoarded and its purchasing power increased, but that was somehow OK. None-the-less that was how Morgan and other bankers obtained lots of southern real estate on the cheap after the Civil War - once they had successfully lobbied to get the country back on a gold standard. They had enough of the gold that, by withdrawing it from circulation, they could create a depression. Prices fell and they bought property on the cheap.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."