There have been as many as 48recessions in the United States dating back to theArticles of Confederation, and although economists and historians dispute certain 19th-century recessions,[1] the consensus view among economists and historians is that "the [cyclical] volatility ofGNP andunemployment was greater before theGreat Depression than it has been since the end ofWorld War II."[2] Cycles inthe country's agricultural production, industrial production, consumption, business investment, and the health of the banking industry contribute to these declines. U.S. recessions have increasingly affected economies on a worldwide scale, especially as countries' economiesbecome more intertwined.
The unofficial beginning and ending dates of recessions in the United States have been defined by theNational Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), an Americanprivate nonprofit research organization. The NBER defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across theeconomy, lasting more than two quarters which is 6 months, normally visible in realgross domestic product (GDP), real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales".[3][a]
In the 19th century, recessions frequently coincided with afinancial crisis. Determining the occurrence of pre-20th-century recessions is more difficult due to the dearth ofeconomic statistics, so scholars rely on historical accounts of economic activity, such as contemporary newspapers or business ledgers. Although the NBER does not date recessions before 1857, economists customarily extrapolate dates of U.S. recessions back to 1790 from business annals based on various contemporary descriptions. Their work is aided by historical patterns, in that recessions often follow external shocks to theeconomic system such as wars and variations in the weather affecting agriculture, as well as banking crises.[5]
Major modern economic statistics, such asunemployment and GDP, were not compiled on a regular and standardized basis until after World War II. The average duration of the 11 recessions between 1945 and 2001 is 10 months, compared to 18 months for recessions between 1919 and 1945, and 22 months for recessions from 1854 to 1919.[6] Because of the great changes in the economy over the centuries, it is difficult to compare the severity of modern recessions to early recessions.[7] Before theCOVID-19 recession began in March 2020, no post-World War II era had come anywhere near the depth of theGreat Depression, which lasted from 1929 until 1941 (which included a bull market between 1933 and 1937) and was caused bythe 1929 crash of the stock market andother factors.
Attempts have been made to date recessions in America beginning in 1790. These periods of recession were not identified until the 1920s. To construct the dates, researchers studied business annals during the period and constructedtime series of the data. The earliest recessions for which there is the most certainty are those that coincide with major financial crises.[8][9]
Beginning in 1835, an index of business activity by theCleveland Trust Company provides data for comparison between recessions. Beginning in 1854, the National Bureau of Economic Research dates recession peaks and troughs to the month. However, a standardized index does not exist for the earliest recessions.[8]
In 1791, Congress chartered theFirst Bank of the United States to handle the country's financial needs. The bank had some functions of a modern central bank, although it was responsible for only 20% of the young country's currency. In 1811 the bank's charter lapsed, but it was replaced by theSecond Bank of the United States, which lasted from 1816 to 1836.[9]
| Name | Dates[b] | Duration | Time since previous recession | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panic of 1785 | 1785–1788 | ~4 years | The panic of 1785, which lasted until 1788, ended the business boom that followed the American Revolution. The causes of the crisis lay in the overexpansion and debts incurred after American independence, a postwar deflation, American manufacturers facing competition from their British counterparts, and lack of adequate credit and a sound currency. The downturn was exacerbated by the absence of any significant interstate trade. Other factors were Britain's refusal to conclude a commercial treaty, and actual and pending defaults among debtor groups. The panic among business and propertied groups led to the demand for a stronger federal government.[11] | |
| Copper Panic of 1789 | 1789–1793 | ~4 years | ~0 years | Loss of confidence in copper coins due to debasement and counterfeiting led to commercial freeze up that halted the economy of several northern States and was not alleviated until the introduction of new paper money to restore confidence.[12] |
| Panic of 1792 | 1792 | ~2 months | ~0 years | Its causes included the extension of credit and excessive speculation. The panic was largely solved by providing banks the necessary funds to make open market purchases.[13] |
| Panic of 1796–1797 | 1796–1799 | ~3 years | ~4 years | Just as a land speculation bubble was bursting, deflation from theBank of England (which was facing insolvency due of the cost of British involvement in theFrench Revolutionary Wars) crossed to North America and disruptedcommercial andreal estate markets in the United States and theCaribbean, and caused amajor financial panic.[14] Prosperity continued in theSouthern United States, but economic activity was stagnant in theNorthern United States for three years. The young United States engaged in theQuasi-War with France.[9] |
| 1802–1804 recession | 1802–1804 | ~2 years | ~3 years | A boom of war-time activity led to a decline after thePeace of Amiens ended thewar between the United Kingdom and France. Commodity prices fell dramatically. Trade was disrupted by pirates, leading to theFirst Barbary War.[9] |
| Depression of 1807 | 1807–1810 | ~3 years | ~3 years | TheEmbargo Act of 1807 was passed by theUnited States Congress under PresidentThomas Jefferson as tensions increased with the United Kingdom. The Act severely impacted shipping-related industries in the United States. TheFederalists fought the embargo and allowed American merchants to smuggle goods with their British counterparts inNew England. Trade volumes, commodity prices and securities prices all began to fall.Macon's Bill Number 2 ended the embargoes in May 1810, and a recovery started.[9] |
| 1812 recession | 1812 | ~6 months | ~18 months | The United States entered a brief recession at the beginning of 1812. The decline was brief primarily because the United States soon increased production to fight theWar of 1812, which began June 18, 1812.[15] |
| 1815–1821 depression | 1815–1821 | ~6 years | ~3 years | Shortly after the war ended on March 23, 1815, the United States entered a period of financial panic as bank notes rapidly depreciated because of inflation following the war. The 1815 panic was followed by several years of mild depression, and then a major financial crisis – thePanic of 1819, which featured widespreadforeclosures, bank failures,unemployment, a collapse in real estate prices, and a slump inagriculture andmanufacturing.[9] |
| 1822–1823 recession | 1822–1823 | ~1 year | ~1 year | After only a mild recovery following the lengthy 1815–1821 depression, commodity prices hit a peak in March 1822 and began to fall. Many businesses failed, unemployment rose and an increase in imports worsened the trade balance.[9] |
| 1825–1826 recession | 1825–1826 | ~1 year | ~2 years | ThePanic of 1825, a stock crash following a bubble of speculative investments in Latin America led to a decline in business activity in the United States and Britain. The recession coincided with a major panic, the date of which may be more easily determined than general cycle changes associated with other recessions.[8] |
| 1828–1829 recession | 1828–1829 | ~1 year | ~2 years | In 1826, Britain banned US citizens from trading with British colonies, and in 1827, the United States adopted a counter-prohibition. Trade declined, just as credit became tight for manufacturers in New England.[9] |
| 1833–1834 recession | 1833–1834 | ~1 year | ~4 years | The United States' economy declined moderately in 1833–34. News accounts of the time confirm the slowdown. The subsequent expansion was driven by land speculation.[16] |
In the 1830s, U.S. PresidentAndrew Jackson fought to end theSecond Bank of the United States. Following theBank War, the Second Bank lost its charter in 1836. From 1837 to 1862, there wasno national presence in banking, but still plenty of state and even local regulation, such as laws against branch banking which prevented diversification. In 1863, in response to financing pressures of the Civil War, Congress passed theNational Banking Act, creatingnationally chartered banks. Since there was neither a central bank nor deposit insurance during this era, banking panics were common.
The dating of recessions during this period is controversial. Modern economic statistics, such asgross domestic product and unemployment, were not gathered during this period:Victor Zarnowitz evaluated a variety of indices to measure the severity of these recessions.
From 1834 to 1929, one measure of recessions is the Cleveland Trust Company index, which measured business activity and, beginning in 1882, an index of trade and industrial activity was available, which can be used to compare recessions.[c]
| Name | Dates[b] | Duration | Time since previous recession | Business activity[c] | Trade & industrial activity[c] | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1836–1838 recession | — | ~2 years | ~2 years | −32.8% | — | A sharp downturn in theAmerican economy was caused by bank failures, lack of confidence in thepaper currency, tightening of English Credit, crop failures and Jacksonian policy.[17] Speculation markets were greatly affected whenAmerican banks stopped payment inspecie (gold and silver coinage).[1][18] Over 600 banks failed in this period. In theSouthern United States, the cotton market completely collapsed.[9] See:Panic of 1837. |
| late 1839–late 1843 recession | — | ~4 years | ~1 year | −34.3% | — | This was one of the longest and deepest depressions of the 19th century: it was a period of pronounceddeflation and massive defaults on debt. The Cleveland Trust Company Index showed the economy spent 68 months below its trend, and only nine months above it, and declined 34.3% during this depression.[19] |
| 1845–late 1846 recession | — | ~1 year | ~2 years | −5.9% | — | This recession was mild enough that it may have only been a slowdown in the growth cycle. One theory holds that this would have been a recession, except the United States began to gear up for theMexican–American War, which began April 25, 1846.[16] |
| 1847–1848 recession | late 1847 – late 1848 | ~1 year | ~1 year | −19.7% | — | The Cleveland Trust Company Index declined 19.7% during 1847 and 1848. It is associated with thePanic of 1847, a financial crisis in Great Britain.[19][20] |
| 1853–1854 recession | 1853 – December 1854 | ~1 year | ~5 years | −18.4% | — | Interest rates rose in this period, contributing to a decrease in railroad investment. Security prices fell during this period. With the exception of falling business investment, there is little evidence of contraction in this period.[1] |
| Panic of 1857 | June 1857 – December 1858 | 1 year 6 months | 2 years 6 months | −23.1% | — | The failure of theOhio Life Insurance and Trust Company burst a European speculative bubble inUnited States' railroads and caused a loss of confidence inAmerican banks. Over 5,000 businesses failed within the first year of the Panic, and unemployment was accompanied by protest meetings in urban areas. This recession was one of the main causes of theAmerican Civil War, which would begin in 1861 and end in 1865. This is the earliest recession to which the NBER assigns specific months (rather than years) for the peak and trough.[6][8][21] |
| 1860–1861 recession | October 1860 – June 1861 | 8 months | 1 year 10 months | −14.5% | — | There was a mild recession before the American Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861, although the recession was only limited to some areas. Zarnowitz says the data generally show a contraction occurred in this period, but it was quite mild.[19] A financial panic was narrowly averted in 1860 by the first use ofclearing house certificates between banks.[9] |
| 1865–1867 recession | April 1865 – December 1867 | 2 years 8 months | 3 years 10 months | −23.8% | — | The American Civil War ended in April 1865, and the country entered a lengthy period of general deflation that lasted until 1896. The United States occasionally experienced periods of recession during theReconstruction Era. Production increased in the years following the Civil War, but the country still had financial difficulties.[19] The post-war period coincided with a period of someinternational financial instability. |
| 1869–1870 recession | June 1869 – December 1870 | 1 year 6 months | 1 year 6 months | −9.7% | — | A few years after the Civil War, a short recession occurred. It was unusual since it came amid a period when railroad investment was greatly accelerating, even producing theFirst transcontinental railroad. The railroads built in this period opened up the interior of the country, giving birth to theFarmers' movement. The recession may be explained partly by ongoing financial difficulties following the war, which discouraged businesses from building up inventories.[19] Several months into the recession, there was amajor financial panic. |
| Panic of 1873 and theLong Depression | October 1873 – March 1879 | 5 years 5 months | 2 years 10 months | −33.6% (−27.3%)[c] | — | Economic problems in Europe prompted the failure ofJay Cooke & Company, the largest bank in the United States, which burst the post-Civil Warspeculative bubble. TheCoinage Act of 1873 also contributed by immediately depressing the price of silver, which hurt North American mining interests.[22] The deflation and wage cuts of the era led to labor turmoil, such as theGreat Railroad Strike of 1877. In 1879, the United States returned to the gold standard with theSpecie Payment Resumption Act. This is the longest period of economic contraction recognized by the NBER, though theLong Depression is sometimes held to be the entire period from October 1873 to December 1896.[23][24] |
| Depression of 1882–1885 | March 1882 – May 1885 | 3 years 2 months | 3 years | −32.8% | −24.6% | Like the Long Depression that preceded it, the recession of 1882–1885 was more of aprice depression than a production depression. From 1879 to 1882, there had been a boom in railroad construction which came to an end, resulting in a decline in both railroad construction and in related industries, particularly iron and steel.[25] A major economic event during the recession was thePanic of 1884. |
| 1887–1888 recession | March 1887 – April 1888 | 1 year 1 month | 1 year 10 months | −14.6% | −8.2% | Investments in railroads and buildings weakened during this period. This slowdown was so mild that it is not always considered a recession. Contemporary accounts apparently indicate it was considered a slight recession.[26] |
| 1890–1891 recession | July 1890 – May 1891 | 10 months | 1 year 5 months | −22.1% | −11.7% | Although shorter than the recession in 1887–1888 and still modest, a slowdown in 1890–1891 was somewhat more pronounced than the preceding recession. International monetary disturbances are blamed for this recession, such as thePanic of 1890 in the United Kingdom.[26] |
| Panic of 1893 | January 1893 – June 1894 | 1 year 5 months | 1 year 8 months | −37.3% | −29.7% | The failure of the United StatesReading Railroad and withdrawal of European investment led to astock market and banking collapse: this Panic was also precipitated in part by arun on the gold supply. The Treasury had to issue bonds to purchase enough gold. Profits, investment and income all fell, leading to political instability, the height ofthe U.S. populist movement and theFree Silver movement.[27] Estimates on unemployment vary, it may have peaked anywhere from 8.2 to 18.4%.[28] |
| Panic of 1896 | December 1895 – June 1897 | 1 year 6 months | 1 year 6 months | −25.2% | −20.8% | The period of 1893–1897 is seen as a generally depressed cycle that had a short spurt of growth in the middle, following the Panic of 1893. Production shrank and deflation reigned.[26] |
| 1899–1900 recession | June 1899 – December 1900 | 1 year 6 months | 2 years | −15.5% | −8.8% | This was a mild recession in the period of general growth beginning after 1897. Evidence for a recession in this period does not show up in some annual data series.[26] |
| 1902–1904 recession | September 1902 – August 1904 | 1 year 11 months | 1 year 9 months | −16.2% | −17.1% | Though not severe, this downturn lasted for nearly two years and saw a distinct decline in the national product. Industrial and commercial production both declined, albeit fairly modestly.[26] The recession came about a year after a1901 stock crash. |
| Panic of 1907 | May 1907 – June 1908 | 1 year 1 month | 2 years 9 months | −29.2% | −31.0% | A run onKnickerbocker Trust Company deposits on October 22, 1907, set events in motion that would lead to a severe monetary contraction. The fallout from the panic led to Congresscreating the Federal Reserve System.[29] |
| Panic of 1910–1911 | January 1910 – January 1912 | 2 years | 1 year 7 months | −14.7% | −10.6% | This was a mild but lengthy recession. The national product grew by less than 1%, and commercial activity and industrial activity declined. The period was also marked by deflation.[26] |
| Recession of 1913–1914 | January 1913 – December 1914 | 1 year 11 months | 1 year | −25.9% | −19.8% | Productions and real income declined during this period and were not offset until the start ofWorld War I increased demand.[26] Incidentally, theFederal Reserve Act was signed during this recession, creating theFederal Reserve System, the culmination of a sequence of events following thePanic of 1907.[29] Thefinancial crisis of 1914 occurred following theassassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand ofAustria-Hungary, the subsequentJuly Crisis, andBritish declaration of war on Germany, which led toU.S. Treasury SecretaryWilliam Gibbs McAdoo to close theNew York Stock Exchange beginning on July 31.[30] |
| Post-World War I recession | August 1918 – March 1919 | 7 months | 3 years 8 months | −24.5% | −14.1% | Severehyperinflation in Europe took place over production in North America. This was a brief but very sharp recession and was caused by the end of wartime production, along with an influx of labor from returning troops. This, in turn, caused high unemployment.[31] |
| Depression of 1920–1921 | January 1920 – July 1921 | 1 year 6 months | 10 months | −38.1% | −32.7% | The 1921 recession began a mere 10 months after the post-World War I recession, as the economy continued working through the shift to a peacetime economy. The recession was short, but extremely painful. The year 1920 was the single most deflationary year in American history; production, however, did not fall as much as might be expected from the deflation. GNP may have declined between 2.5 and 7 percent, even as wholesale prices declined by 36.8%.[32] The economy had a strong recovery following the recession.[33] |
| 1923–1924 recession | May 1923 – June 1924 | 1 year 2 months | 2 years | −25.4% | −22.7% | From the depression of 1920–1921 until the Great Depression, an era dubbed theRoaring Twenties, the economy was generally expanding. Industrial production declined in 1923–24, but on the whole this was a mild recession.[26][34][35][36] |
| 1926–1927 recession | October 1926 – November 1927 | 1 year 1 month | 2 years 3 months | −12.2% | −10.0% | This was an unusual and mild recession, thought to be caused largely becauseHenry Ford closed production in his factories for six months to switch from production of theModel T to theModel A.Charles P. Kindleberger says the period from 1925 to the start of the Great Depression is best thought of as a boom, and this minor recession just proof that the boom "was not general, uninterrupted or extensive".[37][34][38][36] |
Following the end of World War II and the large adjustment as the economy adjusted from wartime to peacetime in 1945, the collection of many economic indicators, such as unemployment and GDP, became standardized. Recessions after World War II may be compared to each other much more easily than previous recessions because of these available data. The listed dates and durations are from the official chronology of the National Bureau of Economic Research.[6] GDP data are from theBureau of Economic Analysis, unemployment from theBureau of Labor Statistics (after 1948). The unemployment rate often reaches a peak associated with a recession after the recession has officially ended.[39]
Until the start of theCOVID-19 recession in 2020, no post-World War II era came anywhere near the depth of the Great Depression. In the Great Depression, GDP fell by 27% (the deepest after demobilization is the recession beginning in December 2007, during which GDP had fallen 5.1% by the second quarter of 2009) and the unemployment rate reached 24.9% (the highest since was the 10.8% rate reached during the 1981–1982 recession).[40]
TheNational Bureau of Economic Research dates recessions on a monthly basis back to 1854; according to their chronology, from 1854 to 1919, there were 16 cycles. The average recession lasted 22 months, and the average expansion 27. From 1919 to 1945, there were six cycles; recessions lasted an average 18 months and expansions for 35. From 1945 to 2001, and 10 cycles, recessions lasted an average 10 months and expansions an average of 57 months.[6] This has prompted some economists to declare that the business cycle has become less severe.[41]
Many factors that may have contributed to this moderation including the establishment of deposit insurance in the form of theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 and increased regulation of the banking sector.[42][43][44] Other changes include the use of fiscal policy in the form ofautomatic stabilizers to alleviate cyclical volatility.[45][46] The creation of theFederal Reserve System in 1913 has been disputed as a source of stability with it and its policies having mixed successes.[47][48] Since the early 1980s the sources of theGreat Moderation has been attributed to numerous causes including public policy, industry practices, technology, and even good luck.[49][50]
| Name | Period Range | Duration | Time since previous recession | Peak unemployment | GDP decline (peak to trough) | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Depression | August 1929 – March 1933 | 3 years 7 months | 1 year 9 months | 21.3% (1932)[51]– 24.9% (1933)[52] | −26.7% | A banking panic leading to theWall Street crash of 1929 and a collapse in the money supply took place in the United States that was exacerbated by international commitment to thegold standard.[53][54][55]Extensive new tariffs andother factors contributed to an extremely deep depression.[56] GDP, industrial production, employment, and prices fell substantially. A small economic expansion within the depression began in 1933, with gold inflow expanding the money supply and improving expectations; the expansion would end in 1937. The ultimate recovery, which would occur with the start of World War II in 1940, was credited to monetary policy and monetary expansion.[57] |
| Recession of 1937–1938 | May 1937 – June 1938 | 1 year 1 month | 4 years 2 months | 17.8%[51] −19.0% (1938)[58] | −18.2% | TheRecession of 1937 is only considered minor when compared to the Great Depression, but is otherwise among the worst recessions of the 20th century. Three explanations are offered as causes for the recession: the tight fiscal policy resulting from an attempt to balance the budget afterNew Deal spending; the tight monetary policy of the Federal Reserve; and the declining profits of businesses leading to a reduction in business investment.[59] |
| Recession of 1945 | February 1945 – October 1945 | 8 months | 6 years 8 months | 5.2%[58] (1946) | −12.7% | The decline in government spending at the end of World War II led to an enormous drop in gross domestic product, making this technically a recession. This was the result of demobilization and the shift from a wartime to peacetime economy. The post-war years were unusual in a number of ways (unemployment was never high), and this era may be considered a "sui generis end-of-the-war recession".[60][61] |
| Recession of 1949 | November 1948 – October 1949 | 11 months | 3 years 1 month | 7.9% (October 1949) | −1.7% | The 1948 recession was a brief economic downturn; forecasters of the time expected much worse, perhaps influenced by the poor economy in their recent lifetimes.[62] The recession also followed a period of monetary tightening.[40] |
| Recession of 1953 | July 1953 – May 1954 | 10 months | 3 years 9 months | 6.1% (September 1954) | −2.6% | After a post-Korean War inflationary period, more funds were transferred tonational security. In 1951, the Federal Reservereasserted its independence from the U.S. Treasury and in 1952, the Federal Reserve changed monetary policy to be more restrictive because of fears of further inflation or of abubble forming.[40][63][64] |
| Recession of 1958 | August 1957 – April 1958 | 8 months | 3 years 3 months | 7.5% (July 1958) | −3.7% | Monetary policy was tightened during the two years preceding 1957, followed by an easing of policy at the end of 1957. The budget balance resulted in a change inbudget surplus of 0.8% of GDP in 1957 to abudget deficit of 0.6% of GDP in 1958, and then to 2.6% of GDP in 1959.[40] |
| Recession of 1960–1961 | April 1960 – February 1961 | 10 months | 2 years | 7.1% (May 1961) | −1.6% | Another primarily monetary recession occurred after the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in 1959. The government switched from deficit (or 2.6% in 1959) to surplus (of 0.1% in 1960). When the economy emerged from this short recession, it began the second-longest period of growth in NBER history.[40] |
| Recession of 1969–1970 | December 1969 – November 1970 | 11 months | 8 years 10 months | 6.1% (December 1970) | −0.6% | The relatively mild 1969 recession followed a lengthy expansion. At the end of the expansion, inflation was rising, possibly a result of increased deficits. This relatively mild recession coincided with an attempt to start closing the budget deficits of theVietnam War (fiscal tightening) and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates (monetary tightening).[40] |
| 1973–1975 recession | November 1973 – March 1975 | 1 year 4 months | 3 years | 9.0% (May 1975) | −3.2% | The1973 oil crisis, a quadrupling of oil prices byOPEC, coupled with the1973–1974 stock market crash led to astagflation recession in the United States.[65][66] |
| 1980 recession | January 1980 – July 1980 | 6 months | 4 years 10 months | 7.8% (July 1980) | −2.2% | The NBER considers a very short recession to have occurred in 1980, followed by a short period of growth and then a deep recession. Unemployment remained relatively elevated in between recessions. The recession began as the Federal Reserve, underPaul Volcker, raised interest rates dramatically to fight theinflation of the 1970s. The early 1980s are sometimes referred to as a "double-dip" or "W-shaped" recession.[40][67] |
| 1981–1982 recession | July 1981 – November 1982 | 1 year 4 months | 1 year | 10.8% (November 1982) | −2.7% | TheIranian Revolution sharply increased the price of oil around the world in 1979, causing the1979 energy crisis. This was caused by the new regime in power inIran, which exported oil at inconsistent intervals and at a lower volume, forcing prices up. Tightmonetary policy in the United States to control inflation led to another recession. The changes were made largely because of inflation carried over from the previous decade because of the1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis.[68][69] |
| Early 1990s recession | July 1990 – March 1991 | 8 months | 7 years 8 months | 7.8% (June 1992) | −1.4% | After the lengthy peacetime expansion of the 1980s, inflation began to increase and the Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates from 1986 to 1989. This weakened but did not stop growth, but some combination of the subsequent1990 oil price shock, the debt accumulation of the 1980s, and growing consumer pessimism combined with the weakened economy to produce a brief recession.[70][71][72] |
| Early 2000s recession | March 2001 – November 2001 | 8 months | 10 years | 6.3% (June 2003) | −0.3% | The 1990s were the longest period of economic growth in American history up to that point. The collapse of the speculativedot-com bubble, a fall in business outlays and investments, and theSeptember 11th attacks,[73] brought the decade of growth to an end. Despite these major shocks, the recession was brief and shallow.[74] |
| Great Recession | December 2007 – June 2009[75][76] | 1 year 6 months | 6 years 1 month | 10.0% (October 2009)[77] | −5.1%[78] | Thesubprime mortgage crisis led to the collapse of theUnited States housing bubble. Falling housing-related assets contributed to the2008 financial crisis, even as oil and food prices soared. The crisis led to the failure or collapse of many of the United States' largest financial institutions:Bear Stearns,Fannie Mae,Freddie Mac,Lehman Brothers, andAIG, as well as a crisis in theautomobile industry. The government responded with an unprecedented$700 billion bank bailout and$787 billion fiscal stimulus package. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared the end of this recession over a year after the end date.[79] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) finally reached its lowest point on March 9, 2009.[80] |
| COVID-19 recession | February 2020 – April 2020[81][82][83] | 2 months | 10 years 8 months | 14.7% (April 2020)[84] | −19.2%[85] | Theeconomic effects of the pandemic were severe after the first quarter of 2020. More than 24 million people lost jobs in the United States in just three weeks in April.[86] The economic impact of the virus is still being determined, but the recession was the shortest on record.[83] |
The current consensus is that the volatility of GNP and unemployment were greater before the Great Depression than they have been since the end of World War II.
.svg){kind=link}
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Bray Hammond wrote that Jackson's second term 'fiscal policy...was a product of the current over-trading, inflation, and speculation, but also a contributor thereto. For these evils, which Andrew Jackson aimlessly deplored, could not have been more effectively promoted by Jacksonian policies had that been their purpose. Thus retirement of the public debt, in which the General took great pride, as if it were a personal achievement – as indeed it was in a sense because the burden of it fell inequitably on the southern planters, of whom he was one closed an important field of conservative investment and returned funds to investors who then had to find other uses for them. In consequence the demand for other investments was intensified and their prices driven up.'