The gold standard was an essential part of the bretton-woods system which was put in place after WW2. This came to an end when the US abandoned the gold standard in 1971. Google 'nixon shock'.
If you feel 1971 is when Gold was abandoned, we still can see a massive growth from 1971 to this day. The USA as a nation is the biggest beneficiary of the switch, because the world (75%) have to pay for the USA dollar. In return for the dollar advantage the USA uses its extra wealth to prevent famines & its formidable military might to keep the world a safer place :thumbsup