Chapter 1
A Brief Economic History of the
United States
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
11
Chapter Objectives
• How we did we grow from a primarily
agriculture nation of 4 million people to an
industrial power of 275 million?
• How the Civil War, World War I, and World
War II affected our economy
• How our nation was shaped by
suburbanization after World War II
• What major factors affected our economic
growth decade by decade from the 1920s into
the new millennium
• What the “new economy” is and how it differs
from the “old economy”
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
12
Introduction: A Study in Contrast
(The United States)
• In the midst of plenty
• Expanding
technologies
• Losing the trade war
• 20 million new jobs
since 199091
• Baby boomers better
off than previous
generations
• Poverty
• Dying industries
• Won the cold war
• Half paid less than
$15,000 per year
• Today’s generation is
generally worse off
than its parents
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
13
The American Economy in the
th
19 Century
• Agricultural Development
• The National Railroad Network
• The Age of the Industrial Capitalist
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
14
Agriculture Development
• At the start of the American revolution,
America had an almost limitless supply of land
– Nine of ten Americans lived on a farm
– One hundred years later, fewer than one in two did
– Today, fewer than two in one hundred
• These two feed America and create a huge surplus that
helps to feed the rest of the world
• The abundance of land was the most influential
factor in our economic development in the 19th
century
– Brought millions of immigrants
– Encouraged large families
– Encouraged rapid technological development
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
15
Agriculture Development
(Continued)
• America’s population
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1789
1812
1835
1858
1915
1968
2000
4 million
8 million
16 million
32 million
100 million
200 million
275 million
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
16
Agriculture Development
(Continued)
• America’s large and growing population
was extremely important as a market for
our farmers and manufacturers
– Foreign countries also targeted the
American market
– Japan targeted the American market after
WW II
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
17
Economic Conflicts Leading to
the Civil War
• South
• North
– Had an economy
based on
manufacturing
– Had to pay higher
prices than they
would have paid for
British goods
Had an economy
based on slave labor
(agriculture)
– Opposed extension of
slavery westward
Knew this would be
politically untenable
– Benefited from high
protective tariffs
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
18
After the Civil War
• New England, the middleAtlantic states,
and the midwest were poised for major
industrial expansion and experienced
significant economic growth
• The South remained primarily an
agriculture region and experienced
economic doldrums until the early 1960s
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
19
The National Railroad Network
• The completion of the transcontinental railroads
– 1850
The United States had 10,000 miles of track
– 1890
The United States had 164,000 miles of track
– This made possible mass production, mass marketing,
and mass consumption, which brought the country
together into a huge social and economic unit
– This made it possible to go almost anywhere in the U.S.
by train except in the south (i.e., transcontinental lines
bypassed the south)
– This severely retarded its economic development
well into the 20th century
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
110
The Age of the Industrial Capitalist
• The last quarter of the 19th century was
the age of the industrial capitalist
–
–
–
–
Carnegie (steel)
DuPont (chemicals)
McCormick (farm equipment)
Rockefeller (oil)
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
111
The American Economy: 1900
through WWI
• Until the last quarter of the 19th century,
American economic history was largely
agricultural
• The beginning of the 20th century
witnessed a shift to manufacturing
• By the end of WW I, agriculture played a
relatively minor role in our economic
development
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
112
Industrial Development
• By the turn of the 20th century
– America was primarily an industrial
economy
• Fewer than 4 of 10 people lived on farms
• The U.S. was among the world leaders in
production of steel, coal, steamships, textiles,
apparel, chemicals, and agricultural machinery
– America had a positive trade balance
– America exported most of her agricultural
surpluses
– America began to export manufactured
goods
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
113
Industrial Development
(Continued)
• America was on the way to becoming the
world’s first mass consumption society
• America’s development of the automobile
industry was right around the corner
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
114
Industrial Development
(Continued)
• America’s first plane would soon be
flying at Kitty Hawk
– Commercial aviation was still a few decades
away
• American technological progress made
possible the era of mass consumption and
higher living standards
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
115
By WWI the U.S. Had Emerged as
the Worlds Leading Industrial
Power because of
• Its technological talent
• A large agricultural
surplus
• The world’s first
universal public
education system
• Its available
entrepreneurial abilities
• The fact that the U.S.
was kept out of harm’s
way during World War I
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
116
The American Economy
between the Wars
• The Roaring Twenties
• The Great Depression
• The New Deal
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
117
The Roaring Twenties
• Actually began and ended with depressions
– Early in 1920 consumers began cutting back on
purchases
• They were upset with high prices (problem with inflation)
– The Federal Reserve tightened credit (i.e.,decreased
the money supply)
– The Federal Government reduced spending (i.e., cut
the budget deficit to zero)
– Retailers curtailed purchases (i.e., wholesale prices
dropped 45%)
– The result? A depressed economy!
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
118
The Great Depression
• Started with the August 1929 recession
– Had the stock market not crashed and had
the federal government acted more quickly,
this might have been a fairly short recession
• The economy hit bottom in March, 1933
– National output was onethird what it was in
1929
– Official unemployment was 25%
– 16 million Americans were out of work
• The population was less than ½ its present size
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
119
The Recession of 193738
• An expansion began in March 1933 and
lasted until May 1937
– Output however did not reach 1929 levels
– Seven million people were still unemployed
in 1937
– A system similar to today’s workfare (work
for your welfare check) was put in place
• About 6 million people were put to work on
public works type projects
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
120
The Recession of 193738
(Continued)
• A lot of credit goes to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
“New Deal” administration for the 1933 – 1937
expansion
– Banks were reopened
– The Government confiscated America’s gold
– The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
came into being
– The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC)
was set up
– An unemployment insurance benefit program was
started
– The Social Security System was started
• This was the most significant reform
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
121
What Went Wrong in 1937?
• The Federal Reserve greatly tightened credit
– This reduced the money supply
• The Roosevelt administration suddenly got the
urge to balance the budget
– This would have made sense during an economic
boom but not when the unemployment rate was
12%
– This caused
• Industrial production to fall by 30%
• Five million more people to be put out of work
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
122
What Went Right in 193841?
• In April, 1938 the Federal Reserve and
the Roosevelt Administration reversed
course
• War broke out in Europe in 1939
• America mobilized in 1940 – 41 and then
entered the war on December 7, 1941
• America was back on the road to
recovery
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
123
What Finally Brought the
United States Out of the Great
Depression?
• The massive federal government spending
that was needed to prepare for and fight
World War II
– This was deficit spending (borrowed money)
– In other words the federal budget ran a
deficit
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
124
World War II to Vietnam
• The country that emerged from WW II
was very different from what it had been
four years earlier
– Prosperity had replaced depression
– Inflation was now the number one economic
problem
– The U.S. accounted for half of the world’s
manufacturing output
• With just 7% of the world’s population
– The U.S. and the Soviet Union were the only
superpowers left standing
Copyright 2002 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
125