Without warning, without planning, the nation lurched into a difficult task of economic reconversion. At first, the boom continued, but accompanied by raging inflation. Through most of 1919, and 1920, prices rose at an average of more than 15 percent a year. Finally, latte in 1920, the economic bubble burst as inflation began killing the market for consumer goods. Between 1920 and 1921, the gross national product declined nearly 10 percent; 100,000 businesses went bankrupt; and nearly 5 million Americans lost their jobs.
<Tab/>Well before this severe recession began, there w…
