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Period: to
Economics 100 Year Timeline
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Gold Standard Act
Gold Standard Act establishes gold dollar of 25.8 grains, nine-tenths fine, as standard unit of money in U.S. Also, authorizes 2 percent "consoles" to be sold to National Banks. -
Earthquake hits San Francisco
An earthquake hits San Francisco, destroying the business districts and much of the city and leaving 250,000 people homeless, 25,000 building destroyed, and 500 dead -
Congress passes the Aldrich-Vreeland Act
Congress passes the Aldrich-Vreeland Act to correct deficiencies in the banking system that created the Panic of 1907 -
Supreme Court orders standard oil company
Supreme Court orders Standard Oil Company and American Tobacco Company dissolved for "unreasonable" restraint on trade. -
New York Stock Exchange closes
New York Stock Exchange closes because of European Crisis. (Reopens Dec. 12) -
Emergency Loan Act
Emergency Loan Act authorizes issue of $5 billion in bonds at 3.5 percent. -
Postwar
Postwar recession begins early in year. U.S. food prices are expected to fall 72 percent as farm prices plummet. -
Hurricane Hits Florida
Highly destructive Florida hurricane causes collapse of land boom. -
Economy weakens due to decrease in automobile production
Steel and automobile production are declining and the whole economy shows signs of weakening. Yet stock market prices rise. -
Economy Sinks
The economy sinks due to agricultural and commodity prices falling, national income collapsing and unemployment approaches 4 million -
Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act
Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act, including pensions and unemployment insurance. -
World War 2 is declared
Germany invades Poland, starting World War II. (Britain and France declare war on Germany on Sept. 3) -
President Reelected
Roosevelt is reelected as President. -
Gold Reserve Requirements
Congress reduces gold reserve requirements for Federal Reserve Banks from 40 percent on notes and 35 percent on deposits to 25 percent on both. Also power to issue Federal Reserve Bank Notes (without gold backing) ended. -
Truman sets a new minimum wage
Truman is now elected president. Truman set a minimum wage of 40c to 75c an hour for certain industries engaged in interstate commerce -
Truman proclaims national emergency
Chinese Communist forces come to aid of North Korea, and Truman proclaims national emergency as Chinese drive U.S. forces southward. -
Chase National Bank and Bank of Manhattan merge
The Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company are merged into the nation's second-largest bank. -
116 day strike
Nationwide strike cuts steel output by 90 percent-116-day strike is by far the longest on record in the industry. -
Emergency measures are ordered
Emergency measures are ordered to correct growing deficit in balance of payments. -
Assisantion Of President
President Kennedy is assassinated -
Stock Prices Tumble
Stock prices tumble; the Dow Jones industrial average falls to 744. -
Greastest monthly decline since 1957
The January economic indicators fall by 1.8 percent, the greatest monthly decline since 1957 recession. -
Minimum wage is risen
Minimum wage rises from $2.10 to $2.30 as provided in 1974 law. (Rate went from $2.00 to $2.10 on Jan. 1, 1975) -
Japan opens market to the U.S.
Japan agrees to some opening of its domestic market to U.S. products. -
Interest Rate rises
The U.S. prime interest rate reaches an all-time high of 21.5 percent. -
Unemployment rate plummets
Unemployment hits 10.8 percent, the highest since 1940 -
Farms go bankrupt
A record 43,000 farms go bankrupt as land prices fall and interest rates soar. Many banks and savings-and-loan institutions go bankrupt in Texas, Oklahoma, and other oil states that are pressured by collapsing world oil prices. -
United States launches attack on Iraq
The U.S. and its allies launch an attack on Iraq. The Gulf war ends on Feb. 27. -
President Clinton signs compromise bill
President Clinton signs a compromise bill designed to cut federal budget deficits $496 billion over five years, through spending cuts and new taxes. -
Crisis in Russian leads to world market debt
The crises in the Russian financial system leads world markets into turmoil, as its three-month moratorium on debt payments and over 50% devaluation of the ruble crush the Russian stock market. -
China is granted trade relations with the U.S.
China was granted permanent normal trade relations status with the U.S -
President Bush signs a 10-year farm bill
President Bush signed a 10-year, $190 billion farm bill that promises to expand subsidies to growers. -
oil prices rise
International oil prices hit a 3-1/2 year high -
Housing Bubble bursts
The "housing bubble" bursts,setting in motion the subprime mortage crisis and the Great Recession. Congress begins to recognize the emergence of the "shadow banking system" and the failure of the regulatory system. The banking system faces a crisis. -
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
President Obama and Congress pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, providing tax cuts, and federal funds to create new jobs,save existing jobs, spur economic growth. the country's debt rises to 11 trillion while the deficits rises to $1.4 trillion -
Job Market continues to slowly emerge
In 2010 the job market began to emerge from the most severe downturn since the Great Depression. U.S. employment is up, the layoff rate is down, and the average wage (after adjusting for inflation) has improved modestly
