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New factories, national advertising, and easy credit help Americans buy cars, radios, and appliances. Consumer spending becomes the main driver of the economy. This event matters because it marks the start of modern consumer culture in the United States.
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Speculation causes the stock market to collapse and banks fail. Millions lose jobs and businesses shut down across the country. This event matters because it reveals major problems in the financial system and leads to major economic reforms.
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President Franklin Roosevelt creates new programs that regulate banks, support workers, and provide public jobs. The federal government takes a much larger role in the economy. This event matters because it reshapes the structure of American capitalism.
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World leaders create the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and place the United States dollar at the center of the global financial system. This event matters because it establishes American leadership in the world economy.
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Strong industrial growth, military spending, and rising wages help create a large middle class. Suburbs and mass homeownership expand across the country. This event matters because it marks a period of broad prosperity that shapes American life. It is widely recognized to end with the 1973-1975 recession.
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President Richard Nixon stops exchanging dollars for gold, which ends the old monetary system. Global financial markets grow rapidly after this change. This event matters because it begins a new era of floating currencies and financial expansion.
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An oil embargo leads to fuel shortages and very high prices. At the same time unemployment rises and the economy slows. This event matters because it challenges earlier economic ideas and pushes the country toward new policies.
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President Ronald Reagan supports lower taxes, fewer regulations, and weaker unions. Corporations and financial markets gain more power. This event matters because it shifts the economy toward free market ideas that shape later decades.
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Congress removes rules that had separated commercial banks from investment banks. Financial firms grow larger and more influential. This event matters because it helps create the modern financial system and increases risk in the economy.
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The housing market collapses and banks face huge losses. The government steps in with emergency aid to prevent a deeper collapse. This event matters because it exposes the dangers of a highly financialized economy.