American Economic History: 1896-2050

The Gilded Age & Early 20th Century

1896

Dow: 60

Silver Campaign Depression

Population: 1.7 Billion People

1901

Dow: 65

Gold Standard Confirmed • US Steel Formed • McKinley Assassinated

1903

Dow: 48

Wright Brothers Flight

1907

Dow: 58

San Francisco Earthquake • Panic of 1907

1908

Dow: 86

Model T Ford

1912

Dow: 87

Titanic Sinks

1913

Dow: 78

Income Tax 16th Amendment • Federal Reserve Established

War, Depression & Recovery

1917

Dow: 74

World War I • Bolshevik Revolution

1920

Dow: 71

Women's Suffrage 19th Amendment • Prohibition Begins

1923

Dow: 95

Teapot Dome Scandal

1927

Dow: 202

Lindbergh Solo Flight • Coolidge Prosperity

1929

Dow: 248

Crash of 1929 • Hoover Becomes President

1930

Dow: 164

Depression of the 1930's begins

1933

Dow: 99

FDR Closes Banks • New Deal

1934

Dow: 104

Securities and Exchange Created

Post-War Boom & Modern Era

1941

Dow: 111

Pearl Harbor • World War II (1939-1945)

1944

Dow: 152

D-Day

1945

Dow: 192

Hiroshima Nuclear Age

1950

Dow: 235

Korean War

Population: 2.5 Billion People

1957

Dow: 435

Sputnik

1962

Dow: 679

Cuban Missile Crisis

1963

Dow: 615

Kennedy Assassinated

1969

Dow: 969

Moon Landing • Woodstock

1974

Dow: 841

Nixon Resigns • OPEC Oil Embargo

1975

Dow: 889

Stock Exchange Ends Fixed Commission Rates

Population: 4 Billion People

1981

Dow: 831

First Space Shuttle Flight

1986

Dow: 1046

Challenger Disaster • Chernobyl Meltdown

1991

Dow: 1895

Gulf War I • USSR Collapse

Digital Age & Modern Times

1995

Dow: 3163

Netscape IPO

1998

Dow: 7915

Internet Boom

1999

Dow: 9274

Market Tops 11,000

Population: 7 Billion People

2001

Dow: 10021

9/11 Attacks NYC • Internet Bust

2008

Dow: 7552

Default Swap Crisis • Record Gas Prices • 150 Million People on Facebook

2009

Dow: Recovery

First Black President

Population: 9.1 Billion People

The Future Vision

2050: 50,000

"Depressions Never Last Forever" - A testament to human resilience and economic recovery