The Bretton Woods System was a way for countries to tie their money to gold or the US dollar after World War II. They could borrow money from the International Monetary Fund if needed. Most countries chose to link their money to the dollar and build up dollar reserves. This helped the US pay its debts but also meant the US couldn't change its money value. The system fell apart when other countries had more dollars than the US had gold. In 1973, major countries decided to let their money values float freely.