Named after the Bretton Woods Conference held in July 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, this monetary system created rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states. It established fixed exchange rates and the U.S. dollar as the primary reserve currency linked to gold. The system aimed to provide stability in an era of post-war reconstruction and to promote international economic cooperation. It existed until 1971, when the United States abandoned the gold standard, leading to a system of floating exchange rates.