At the end of his first term in office, Jackson cut the federal government's ties to the Bank of the United States (by vetoing an Act to renew its charter), an institution that was in some respects the Federal Reserve System of its day. Might Donald Trump's presidency have equally dramatic consequences for the Federal Reserve?

A Return to the Gold Standard?

During his campaign, candidate Trump mulled an idea for thoroughgoing reform of our monetary system: a return to the gold standard. As Ralph Benko noted, Mr. Trump told a New Hampshire television station in March: "We used to have a very, very solid country because it was based on a gold standard." He added that a return would be difficult because "we don't have the gold. Other places have the gold." He similarly told GQ magazine that "Bringing back the gold standard would be very hard to do, but boy, would it be wonderful. We'd have a standard on which to base our money."