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Going all the way back to the 1870's and the reconstruction era of the United States when railroad tycoons, oil tycoons, the onset of electricity and other modern marvels all the way to the social media and nano technology revolution of the 2000's, I'm curious on what decade you think saw the greatest addition to American economic prowess. What decade was the very best economically for us? Of course in the 20th century the roaring 20's, 1950's post-war boom and the dot com boom of the 1990's stand out, but were other decades more revolutionizing? Please share and explain which decade you believe was the best for the United States.
Which begs the question, best financial decade for whom? For me to answer this question I need a bit more clarification.
The 1880's and 1890's were great years for the Robber Barons, not so good for the average guy.
For the average working guy and gal, clearing the era of the 1950's and 60's beats everything before or since.
The 70's was a pretty decent era for African Americans but it was the also the era that saw the steady erosion of the earnings of blue collar workers particularly in the east and mid-west.
So I need to know more about what you are looking for.
You are also placing an arbitrary period of decades which is not really helpful in understanding the economy. If an economy booms for the first 9 years of a decade, but crashes in the 10th, can we call that a good decade? It would be better to look at other factors such as what years (not decades) did the recessions/depressions occur.
You are also placing an arbitrary period of decades which is not really helpful in understanding the economy. If an economy booms for the first 9 years of a decade, but crashes in the 10th, can we call that a good decade? It would be better to look at other factors such as what years (not decades) did the recessions/depressions occur.
Can we call the 1920's a good decade? Yes. Economy expanded greatly. It did lead to the crash of 29, but it was still a great decade. Can we call the 2000's a good decade? Overall, yes, the 2000's were pretty good to America. 2008 and 2009 were very rough admittedly.
I'm not sure what you are suggesting...should I add every year from 1870 to 2009?
Can we call the 1920's a good decade? Yes. Economy expanded greatly. It did lead to the crash of 29, but it was still a great decade. Can we call the 2000's a good decade? Overall, yes, the 2000's were pretty good to America. 2008 and 2009 were very rough admittedly.
I'm not sure what you are suggesting...should I add every year from 1870 to 2009?
It wasn't a great decade for farmers. In order to make up for low commodity prices, farmers planted/raised more crops/livestock, creating huge surpluses that resulted in further lowering prices. Between the agricultural depression created by the end of WW I and crop surpluses and the long drought that began in the 1920s and culminated in the 1930s Dust Bowl, farmers struggled, and the rate that farmers being pushed off their land and into the towns and cities accelerated.
It wasn't a great decade for workers either. Real wages declined. Middle class incomes stagnated and industrial wages declined. The "prosperity" was propped up by the growth of consumer credit. When people ran out of credit or felt they couldn't afford more, they stopped buying consumer goods and inventories started to increase. The 1929 stock market crash didn't cause the Great Depression of the 1930s; the seeds were sown in the 1920s.
What is being suggested is that you use the periods between the economic crashes (panics) as your units. The US suffered periodic economic dislocations throughout its history. There was a panic in 1873 and another one in 1893. There was one just before WW I and another one just afterwards. Of course there was the Great Depression which lasted from 1929 through to the end of 1941, etc.
It wasn't a great decade for farmers. In order to make up for low commodity prices, farmers planted/raised more crops/livestock, creating huge surpluses that resulted in further lowering prices. Between the agricultural depression created by the end of WW I and crop surpluses and the long drought that began in the 1920s and culminated in the 1930s Dust Bowl, farmers struggled, and the rate that farmers being pushed off their land and into the towns and cities accelerated.
It wasn't a great decade for workers either. Real wages declined. Middle class incomes stagnated and industrial wages declined. The "prosperity" was propped up by the growth of consumer credit. When people ran out of credit or felt they couldn't afford more, they stopped buying consumer goods and inventories started to increase. The 1929 stock market crash didn't cause the Great Depression of the 1930s; the seeds were sown in the 1920s.
What is being suggested is that you use the periods between the economic crashes (panics) as your units. The US suffered periodic economic dislocations throughout its history. There was a panic in 1873 and another one in 1893. There was one just before WW I and another one just afterwards. Of course there was the Great Depression which lasted from 1929 through to the end of 1941, etc.
Thank you for the history lesson. Do you have an opinion on which decade was the best to the US economy overall?
There is a table at the end of this article that has the GDP numbers from 1790 to 2006. If you were to calculate the % change per decade then that would give you the best one, in real simple terms. Of course, "best" is kind of subjective. Best for who? Best per capita? Best general GDP growth? If you want to take into account the distribution of wealth and income then it can get very complex. The data here won't allow you to do that.
There is a table at the end of this article that has the GDP numbers from 1790 to 2006. If you were to calculate the % change per decade then that would give you the best one, in real simple terms. Of course, "best" is kind of subjective. Best for who? Best per capita? Best general GDP growth? If you want to take into account the distribution of wealth and income then it can get very complex. The data here won't allow you to do that.
1880-1920 was the best. that's when a common non-english speaking
working man and his family could come here, work, buy land on a laborer's
wage, buy a house or five, raise a giant family full of patriotic americans.
those days are long gone.
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