The Rise and Fall of The American Economic Empire

1920-1930

Though we like to romanticize the roaring 20s, for now, let’s focus on how we did economically. Though the 20s began with a recession, experts say that the worst time period was actually between 1929 and 1930.

At the beginning of the decade, monetary policies caused a hiccup in the economy- a hiccup that would finally resolve three years later in 1923. But that was a drop in the ocean compared to what occurred years later when, on Oct. 24, 1929, Dow Jones industrial average fell 23% in a single day.

Also known as Black Tuesday, this event paved the way for the Great Depression and lead to such a huge decline in housing prices that things only started to get back to normal in the 1930s.

But let’s not forget that the 20s weren’t all bad- a mixed bag, we would say. For example, from 1920 to 1929, the gross national product, also known as GNP grew by 4.2% on a yearly basis.