When the United Kingdom and the United States were vying for the position of the global settlement currency leader, the first internationalization of the US dollar suffered a disastrous defeat, and the United Kingdom once again regained its strength by relying on the trade barriers established by the Imperial Preference System. But with the outbreak of World War II, Britain once again fell into a bug crisis. How did the United States gradually dismember Britain? How did Churchill and Roosevelt wrestle in the Atlantic Ocean to fight for the interests of their respective countries?
The U.S. dollar was first internationalized in 1914. By 1924, the U.S. dollar’s share in the global currency reserve had surpassed that of the United Kingdom, and its status as a global trade settlement currency also greatly surpassed that of the United Kingdom. It can be said that the U.S. dollar has achieved hegemony Status, knocked down the pound. However, due to an inherent defect in the US currency system, it adopted an incorrect policy, which caused the US dollar to come to power with great difficulty from 1925. As a result, it ruled until 1933, and it collapsed in less than 10 years. . The symbolic event is that the Federal Reserve Central Bank was almost squeezed out. The national banks of the United States were essentially put on a 10-day long holiday, which meant that the first internationalization of the dollar was a fiasco. The dollar was beaten back to its original shape, while the pound entered a state of separatism. The British Empire led more than 20 countries in the pound area, and formed a trading area of the British Empire called the pound area. As for the trade between these countries, they have set up their own set of trade barriers, the imperial preferential system. Under such circumstances, after the United Kingdom got rid of the gold standard in 1931 and before the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the British Empire gradually recovered financially after eight years of recuperation. By 1933, the foreign exchange reserves of the British Empire had recovered. It has risen to 4.5 billion US dollars, which is a very large number. 4.5 times higher than when Britain got off the gold standard in 1931. So the British Empire has vitality again and can fight. But at this critical moment, World War II broke out. As soon as World War II started, the old problems of Britain in World War I were manifested again. It was still the problem of insufficient industrial production capacity. The war consumed too much, and Britain's industrial production could not keep up. Therefore, Britain had to rely on the United States to provide it with future supplies. military equipment.
What is the situation in the United States at this time? The American people actually opposed the United States entering the war at the time. At that time, the United States believed that the British Empire's ruling method, colonialism, was outdated and outdated. Because the United States was a British colony at that time, and then gained independence through a long-term struggle. So Americans have an instinctive aversion to the colonial system itself. At the same time, the United States thinks that the United Kingdom is not a good bird. After World War I, Britain owed the United States 5 billion U.S. dollars. When World War II broke out, Britain only repaid 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, and there were still 3.5 billion U.S. dollars owed, so Americans said why should we help What about the British Empire at war? Therefore, only 3% of the people in the opinion poll at that time believed that Britain should be helped to fight Germany, and the vast majority of people opposed it. Congress has conducted many investigations, and one of the investigation reports made by the Ney Commission showed that Congress believes that bankers pushed the United States into the war, so it cannot make the same mistake again. The United States cannot turn to war, so a series of neutrality laws were introduced in the mid-1930s. The countries participating in the war are not allowed to conduct arms trade. These countries buy weapons from the United States, but do not sell them. Also, as long as countries that owe money to the United States during World War I do not repay, they will never get a penny of financing from the United States. Under such circumstances, the United Kingdom went to the United States to lobby again, saying that the United States should provide help, and the American people firmly opposed it. However, the ruling elites in the United States don’t see it that way. In Roosevelt’s view, if Nazi Germany continues to destroy Britain, then Germany will be able to mobilize all the shipbuilding capabilities of the entire Europe, and in the end it will build a lot of ships of all kinds. If such warships are used, then they will cross the Atlantic Ocean at that time and come to the United States sooner or later. Therefore, Roosevelt's point of view is very clear. The United States must participate in the war, and sooner or later it must join the war. Under such circumstances, we cannot just sit back and watch Britain be wiped out, so the United States wants to help Britain. Due to the "Neutrality Act" and the American people's refusal to help Britain, Roosevelt can only lobby Congress to relax the arms embargo , By the end of 1939 progress had been made, and the United States Congress proposed a principle called the cash-and-carry principle. What is cash self-shipment? It is a belligerent country. If you have money and cash, you can buy weapons from the United States, and you have to ship them yourself. On the surface, this seems to be a neutral principle. , that is, Germany can also buy it, Britain can also buy it, and both warring parties can buy it, but in fact, the United Kingdom has the access to the Atlantic Ocean, and the German direct mail submarine has no sea transportation capabilities, and Germany has no cash in hand. On the surface The seemingly neutral cash-and-carry principle is actually leaning towards the UK.
It was precisely because of this principle of self-money that the UK was able to consolidate its defenses in the weakest situation in 1940, otherwise the situation of the UK at that time was very dangerous. But even so, the war burns money very quickly. Britain finally saved 4.5 billion U.S. dollars for 8 years. In the first year of war consumption, all the money was spent in the second half of 1940. At this time, Britain wanted the United States to cry poor , Said that I don't have enough cash, and I can no longer buy weapons from you according to the principle of cash carry, can you give me some other assistance. At this time, the Americans don't believe it, saying that although the current assets of the British Empire are gone, you still have a lot of overseas assets. At that time, Britain still had tens of billions of overseas assets overseas. The Americans said that if you want to get further assistance from me, you must sell all these assets. List the various assets controlled by the United States and the world, how many stocks you control, how many companies you control, how many bonds you have, and how many real estate you have, all listed. What the Americans mean is to squeeze the UK dry before aiding, and then I am providing aid to you. Churchill was very angry. This is to drain our British Empire before he is willing to provide assistance. Isn't that going to make us bankrupt? So Churchill wrote a 4,000-word letter to Roosevelt at the end of 1940, introducing various difficulties in Britain.
What Roosevelt thought after receiving the letter, I don't know. However, at the end of December 1940, Roosevelt held a press conference. At the reception, Roosevelt cited a neighbor's house on fire, and then used the example of a water hose to reverse public opinion. In this example, Roosevelt proposed the concept of Lend-Lease, which is the source of the Lend-Lease Act. (So, in 1941, the U.S. Congress passed the famous Lend-Lease Act to provide various aids such as weapons, military supplies, and food to anti-fascist countries. From 1941 to 1944, 38 countries including the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China Received a total of 50 billion U.S. dollars in aid from the United States. After World War II, Britain was on the verge of economic collapse. Not only could it not afford to pay, but it had to think about the U.S. and Canada with 5.5 billion U.S. dollars to live on. The money was repaid for a total of 60 years, by the end of 2006 before paying off)
Roosevelt proposed that we can produce weapons and ammunition, and then provide assistance to Britain. After the war in Britain, we can return them to us. Very cleverly bypassed an important link, which is US dollar borrowing. During the First World War, the United Kingdom borrowed 5 billion U.S. dollars from the U.S., and only repaid 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. They didn’t pay it back. So if it comes to borrowing money in U.S. dollars, the American people may be very sensitive, but Roosevelt used the lease to bypass In order to borrow money, it was passed in Congress at this time, and then Congress immediately legislated.
The key link in the discussion of the Lend-Lease Bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate was from the end of 1940 to March 11941. During these three months, there were intensive discussions and everyone had to vote. The U.S. government followed the requirements of the British government on the list. You still have so many overseas assets. Under this circumstance, I will not agree to borrow money from me, so you have to sell your overseas assets first. What was the first thing on the list at that time? It was a very profitable company controlled by the United Kingdom. It happened to be in the United States. It was called the American Rayon Company, which produced various synthetic fibers, such as nylon socks and stockings. During World War II, all women wanted it. The American Rayon Company has 7 factories in the United States, employs 18,000 people, and has only tangible assets worth 120 million U.S. dollars. It is very rich. The Americans took a fancy to this company and said that you must sell this company immediately. How much time will you give? 72 hours, low price of 50 million US dollars, sold to Americans. When the British government heard it, wasn't this robbery? The Americans have to agree if they don’t agree. If they don’t agree, the matter will be disclosed in the newspaper. The British still have such profitable companies in the United States. If you don’t dispose of these companies and ask the Americans to borrow money, then the American people will not agree. of. The British government considered again and again, and was forced to agree to the conditions of the United States, and then found the owner of this British business, and gave you 36 hours to sell this business to the Americans. When the business owner hears this, don’t you think about the heavy loss of our family? The British government said that I really have nothing to do, and now I can’t take care of you. We only need to win the war, which is the first priority. So the company was forced to sell within 36 hours. After the Morgan family bought it for US$54 million, they sold it at a high price in the US market and made a lot of money. Churchill mentioned in his later memoirs that we were forced by the US government to sell off a large number of companies at a low price, and the American Rayon Company was one of them.
The cases mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg. At that time, the United States forced the United Kingdom to auction off a large number of important core assets. Through this trick, the United States can basically deprive the British Empire of overseas investment accumulated for hundreds of years, which is a liquid asset. Then there is an illiquid asset, fixed asset. For example, Britain still has many colonies and military bases overseas. Of course, Americans don't want colonies, they think colonies are outdated, costly, and inefficient. But British military bases are valuable. At this time, a man named Dr. Hammer appeared. This man is a bit like Soros today. Thinking about the tens of billions of dollars in colonial assets, if I make this deal in the middle, how much money will I make? So he started planning. After all, the United Kingdom owes the United States 5 billion U.S. dollars. It has already repaid 1.5 billion in World War I debts, and there are still 3.5 billion that have not been repaid. According to the neutral terms of the United States, the United States should not provide financing to the United Kingdom, but it can seek relief. Because after the First World War, the United States reduced war debts for many countries. For example, Italy reduced by half, and France reduced by more than half. For example, Germany, which was defeated in the war, received a little compensation, but the United States invested more. The United States is very, very, very stingy to the United Kingdom, and will not forgive a penny of debt. Hammer thought, if we can reduce Britain's debt by half like Italy's, the 3.5 billion will be 17. Is it 500 million? Then we take these military bases and islands of the British Empire in the entire Western Hemisphere, and we do an asset assessment, for example, Newfoundland to Canada, to the Caribbean Sea in Central America, and to the Falkland Islands in South America. , plus 25 million US dollars for each island, and then make it into an asset package. Dozens of islands are packed together, exactly 1.7 billion, and there is still some money left, and then the destroyers eliminated by the United States, 50 destroyers will be disposed of together to the United Kingdom. Dr. Hammer called this plan a destroyer for a military base. After he figured out this plan, he happily presented it to Congress. Congress saw it as interesting, and then included it in the bill discussed by Congress, but in the end it was not discussed at the meeting. The main reason was that the United States worried that the people were more sensitive to the debt owed by the United States, so it was thrown out. , public opinion may have opposition. Hammer said that this public opinion was not thought of in advance, so this public opinion is also easy to handle. What is public opinion? I came to collect data, mobile phone evidence, and hired a group of people to report the United States since the outbreak of World War II from 1939 to 1940. All the major newspapers, all the commentators’ articles, and all the comments published by the editors made a lot of edits, cut out this newspaper article, and made a very thick briefing, and then he analyzed it in the briefing, and found that 92% of the commentary articles support the US aiding the UK. Don’t you want public opinion? This is public opinion. We don’t know now whether it was judged according to the above criteria. Anyway, according to the editing, 92%, the vast majority of people support the United States to aid the United Kingdom. So Dr. Hammer gave this briefing to Roosevelt. Roosevelt looked at the briefing and listened to Dr. Hammer's plan, and thought it was quite reliable. Why, the war is imminent, and the United States is about to join the war. It is impossible without a military base. It is precisely because of this transaction that Britain got 50 destroyers. These 50 destroyers played a major role in the 1941 war against German submarines. (Of course, we don't know how much money Hamer made, his autobiography doesn't say). Look at the gap, we usually resell small things, people are thinking about reselling military bases in the entire Western Hemisphere of the British Empire. The United States was about to enter the war without a military base, and it was because of this deal that Britain got 50 destroyers, which played a major role in the 1941 war against German submarines. (Of course, we don't know how much money Hamer made, his autobiography doesn't say). Look at the gap, we usually resell small things, people are thinking about reselling military bases in the entire Western Hemisphere of the British Empire. The United States was about to enter the war without a military base, and it was because of this deal that Britain got 50 destroyers, which played a major role in the 1941 war against German submarines. (Of course, we don't know how much money Hamer made, his autobiography doesn't say). Look at the gap, we usually resell small things, people are thinking about reselling military bases in the entire Western Hemisphere of the British Empire.
Due to such a transaction, Britain obtained a large amount of supplies, and then the Lend-Lease Act was passed in the United States, but how to implement it requires the United Kingdom and the United States to sign a specific lease agreement, and in the process of signing the agreement, the two governments started There was a fight. For example, the main purpose of the U.S. Treasury Department is to choke off the lifeline of British finance and prevent it from being revived. If it is revived, it will engage in the pound zone of the British Empire and engage in a trade war with the United States. So use the war to strangle him to death. The Ministry of Finance proposes to control Britain’s use of American materials, and strictly prevent the United Kingdom from taking the leased materials from the United States. What if they sell them on the international market? They are materials that we Americans aid you. You take this material Sold a lot of reserves, and then once the war is over, you are free to do whatever you want, and then engage in the pound zone, and have a trade war with the United States, that won’t work. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance proposes to review it every six months, and to ensure that the British foreign exchange reserves cannot exceed 1 billion US dollars, that is, the cash in the hands of the British, which can only last for 1-2 months of war consumption. Stuck stuck, every sum of money, every aid, has to be tracked where it is used. This is the U.S. Treasury Department choking the financial lifeline of the United Kingdom, and it must suppress its financial sovereignty to a minimum. minimum. In addition, the U.S. State Department exerts pressure on the United Kingdom from another direction. This direction is the imperial preferential system of the British Empire. It has a preferential system because of the British pound zone. After the preferential system is implemented, it will protect the British pound zone. The trade of the United States has formed a crowding out and suppressing effect on the US trade. The State Department said that you must give up on this point. (The "Hull Memorandum" mentioned two points. Hull was the Secretary of State of the State Department at the time). First, the United Kingdom must not conduct discriminatory trade with American products, and trade must not engage in discrimination. Second, the UK cannot impose foreign exchange controls on the pound. What does this mean, that is, the British Empire has many colonies, and the dollars or gold earned by these colonies in exchange for foreign exchange are all concentrated in London, and London gives some pounds to those colonial countries. You take the pound and give me the dollar, so London's foreign exchange reserves will increase, and at the same time, it will reduce the demand for American products in the colonies, because it has no dollars, and it can't buy things from the United States. The State Department thinks this is A little artificial suppression of US exports. So these two points must be given up.
But if you give up these two points, what does it mean? This will have serious consequences. The entire industry of the British Empire itself has turned to military industrial production, so the production capacity of industrial consumer goods and daily consumer goods you produce is insufficient. For example, you can’t exchange the US dollars obtained by India’s export of raw materials with industrial consumer goods. It exchanges a lot of pounds with India, and India can’t buy what it needs with pounds, so those colonial countries They don't want to exchange the pound for the dollar. If the U.S. allows the U.K. to access foreign exchange controls, then those colonial countries will sell the pound to grab the dollar, so that these colonial countries will be dollarized, and everyone will not want the pound. Then the entire system of the British Empire and the currency union will collapse completely. , Then who will follow Britain in the end, everyone will demand independent currency and independent economy, these people will fall apart, and the colonial system will collapse. Keynes was the representative of the United Kingdom at the time. As soon as he saw the request from the U.S. State Department, he knew what the United States was up to. Throughout the negotiation process, the U.S. Treasury Department used a big stick to suppress Britain's financial sovereignty. The State Department used a scalpel to try to direct the United Kingdom, and the two sides attacked together, making the situation of the United Kingdom very difficult. So we see that the critical moment of the war between Britain and the United States is actually a critical period for the game of currency and finance.
We have also seen the situation, the United States has a comprehensive advantage. Of course, although Britain knew the intentions of the United States, the leaders of the two sides still had to meet. In 1941, a summit was held on a cruiser of the United States in the North Atlantic. This is where the Atlantic Charter came from. It was controversial when it came to the postwar economy. Article 4 of the "Atlantic Charter", Churchill's main principle, the main point is that Britain and the United States should fairly and equally distribute raw materials and world markets around the world. Note that he used fair distribution, what does that mean? Share the world equally with the United States, share raw materials and markets together, the United States is definitely not willing, why do you share with me equally, we advocate free trade, the main reason is that the United States has very strong industrial strength, and the US currency will definitely beat Britain in the international market. It's a waste of water, so why should I share it with you equally. Therefore, the U.S. side requested a revision, changing it to the U.K. and the U.S. first exempting trade discrimination against both countries of origin and products of both parties. In addition, all countries in the world should live together and have equal access to markets and raw materials in all countries in the world. Note that Americans use equal entry plus non-discrimination, because Americans believe that under the condition of equal and free competition, British goods are not rivals to American goods. One is equal distribution, the other is equal access, the two can be said to be very different. In the end, Roosevelt finalized the draft. All countries, big or small, victorious or defeated, can equally enter the markets of all countries and obtain raw materials. Finally, it was handed over to Churchill, who knew at a glance that it was for the British imperial preferential system, so Churchill said to think about it first and ask the dominion for its opinion.
The British colonies were divided into colonies and dominions. Dominion means that this region has its own independent parliament, can have the legal authority to play Qunar, and has its own army. It is equivalent to an independent body, and its right to declare war and diplomatic power belongs to the United Kingdom. What are these dominions? Newfoundland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa. What is a colony? You have no legislative power, no autonomy, and you are not allowed to have an army. The British directly send a governor to rule directly.
So Churchill said that he would only give an answer after consulting with the Dominion. Obviously Churchill was procrastinating. Roosevelt quit, we will not delay with you, Roosevelt made a certain concession, this concession was finally reflected in Article 4 of the "Atlantic Charter", that is, on the premise of respecting existing international obligations, Britain and the United States, including other countries in the future, isolate each country Everyone, big or small, has equal access to world markets and markets for raw materials. Then the United States also made a little concession on the lease agreement, that is, in the case of extreme economic poverty in the United Kingdom, we can negotiate and let you relax. The State Council has also made some concessions. In principle, it is still the same as what was said just now, but the two sides must continue to act, reach a consensus, and then do so when conditions permit. The United Kingdom felt that it was acceptable, so the United Kingdom and the United States reached a lease agreement. At this time, the entire war can be fully launched, and the United Kingdom has sufficient strength to fight against Germany.
In addition to the official contest, there is another battlefield, which is the currency battlefield. That is, whether the post-war currency system has the final say on the US dollar or the British pound, this is a major decisive battle. On this issue, the Americans proposed the White Plan, and the British proposed the Keynesian Plan, which opened up the decisive battle between the US dollar and the British pound. Regarding this issue, we will continue to talk about it when we have time.
Add
