What was the gold standard act?

In 1861, to pay for the civil war, the US started issuing large numbers of "greenbacks" The greenbacks could be redeemed for gold or silver. Over the next 40 years, the US waffled between silver (cheap) and gold to redeem their paper money. Using silver, the US could increase the money supply, and cause inflation and growth. But this was out of sync with other countries. By going to gold only, there was deflation, a panic, that in turn created the Federal Reserve Bank system.