On 26 July 1945, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the US Senate’s ratification of the Bretton Woods Monetary Agreement and describes the dominant role of the dollar and the United States in the new international monetary system.

On 20 July 1944, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, delegates from 44 countries sign agreements which establish the gold exchange standard and make the US dollar the only reserve currency convertible into gold.

John Maynard Keynes, an internationally renowned economist and financial adviser at the British Treasury, at the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944. At the conference, 44 countries sign an agreement which establishes the gold exchange standard and makes the US dollar the only reserve currency convertible into gold.

Henry Morgenthau Jr, US Treasury Secretary, at the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944. At the conference, 44 countries sign an agreement which establishes the gold exchange standard and makes the US dollar the only reserve currency convertible into gold.

On 20 July 1944, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the delegates from 44 countries sign an agreement which establishes the gold exchange standard and makes the US dollar the only reserve currency convertible into gold. From left to right: M. S. Stepanov (USSR), John Maynard Keynes (United Kingdom) and Vladimir Rybar (Yugoslavia).