Скачать или смотреть 22) Five long economic waves of the United States

Notes for Economics
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As we narrow our focus, let’s look at the
five long waves that have occurred over the
history of the United States. If we project
measurements backward from the 20th century,
we find that the industrial-based and agricultural-based
calculations coincide fairly well until the
mid-nineteenth century. Let’s begin with
the first three waves leading up to the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
The first wave began at the time of the American
Revolutionary War and reached its peak during
the early decades of the United States. We
identify this wave by economic prosperity
due to maritime trade along with the development
and proliferation of Eli Whitney’s cotton
gin. In addition, the development of the steam
engine by James Watt and its application to
water transportation by Robert Fulton furthered
this prosperity.
The second wave began throughout the Era of
Good Feeling during the 1820s, a period in
which Americans were united in purpose. This
wave reached its peak about a decade before
the War Between the States. We identify the
prosperity in this wave by the acquisition
of California from Mexico and the subsequent
Gold Rush of the 1850s. In addition, the development
of the steel industry, which enabled the rapid
growth of railroads in the East, added more
prosperity.
The third economic wave began around 1880,
when the United States went to freer silver
and gold standards. This wave ended when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt took the country off
of the gold standard in 1933. The economic
surge of this wave came from a series of events.
These included the period of Gold Resumption
Prosperity; the completion of, and trade along,
the First Transcontinental Railroad; Corporate
Mergers as well as Corporate Growth; and urban
growth of the Roaring Twenties. During this
wave, education and engineering led to massive
developments in the fields of electricity
and chemicals.