The largest 

economic boom in American history followed, leading to the Roaring ‘20s. The main reasons were restrained demand that was unleashed by smart government policy under President Harding, who would die in 1923, and cars manufactured by Henry Ford and Walter Chrysler.

Harding signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921, nearly three and a half decades before Ike’s famous legislation. Ford and Chrysler mass produced cars that consumers bought by the hundreds of thousands. Cars required steel for construction, rubber for tires, leather for seat covers and plenty of gasoline. Additionally, the hospitality industry for restaurants and motels and hotels blossomed.

Other technologies such as movies, aviation and radio likewise contributed to the boom. Unfortunately, regulations did not keep pace. In October 1929, the stock market crashed and a global depression took hold. In Germany, Adolf Hitler was exploiting the draconian Versailles Treaty, which laid the groundwork for World War II.