Why did Nixon remove the gold standard?

The Bretton Woods System, established in 1944, tied all global currencies to the value of the dollar, and set the value of the dollar at 1/35^th of an ounce of gold. In 1971, due to the dollar’s role as the global currency, the United States started suffering from a recession and inflation. In order to combat this, Nixon revalued the dollar at 1/38^th of an ounce, which in turn caused a run on gold reserves. In order to stop the run on gold reserves, Nixon severed the ties from gold completely.

 

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