American Decades
Important Events in Business and the Economy, 1920–1929
1920
- Agricultural economists expect U.S. food prices to fall 72 percent. European farmers resume production after World War I, leaving U.S. farmers little opportunity to export surplus to Europe.
- In January, 10 percent of U.S. women worked outside the home.
- From January to May, the Federal Reserve Board raised interest rates from 4 to 7 percent to contract the money supply and thus counteract the threat of inflation.
- On January 2, U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer accuses the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) of plotting to strike the railroads.
- On January 5, the Radio Corporation of America is founded with $20 million capital.
- On January 16, Prohibition begins; America goes dry.
- On February 28, Congress passes the Esch-Cummins Act, restoring railroads to private ownership and establishing the Railroad Labor Board.
- On June 2, Congress passes the...
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1920's Business and the Economy
- Overview
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Topics in the News
- Carriers: Transportation
- Construction and Building
- Farms and Farmers
- Finance and Banking
- Government and Business
- Industry: The Aircraft
- Industry: The Automobile
- Industry: Radio and Broadcasting
- Labor: Workers and Unions
- The Modern Corporation
- Retail Trade and Marketing
- Speculation in Land: The Florida Boom and Crash
- The Stock Market: Boom
- The Stock Market: Crash
- The Stock Market: Effects of the Crash
- Headline Makers
- People in the News
- Deaths
- Publications
- Important Events in Business and the Economy, 1920–1929
