| The First Cycle Following the end of The Revolutionary War in 1783, the U.S. economy experienced rapid development and growth. This was a period when the population was growing rapidly and there was expansion to the West. Even though the manufacturing and agricultural processes were primitive by today's standards, the country was full of new activities. There were new outlets for goods and services, and trade opportunities were enhanced. This new growth and expansion lasted until the beginning of the Civil War.
The Second Cycle Rapid growth in economic activity continued in the period between the beginning of the Civil War and the start of World War I. This was caused in part by the steady increase in population growth, with immigrants arriving in the United States virtually daily. During this time, manufacturing became more dominant and replaced agriculture as the primary industry. At the beginning of this period, about 30 percent of production in the United States was from agriculture; and at the end of the period, it had declined to about 20 percent.
This period wasn't without setbacks, however. In 1873 a major depression began that lasted until the middle of 1879. This depression resulted from a financial panic that caused banks to call for repayment of many of their loans. Very few banks failed, but in the wake of the panic many businesses were affected and did fail.
The Third Cycle The third cycle of economic activity began in 1914 and lasted through 1950. This period was one of major economic variations. Following World War I, demand for goods and services was high, so the economy flourished. Manufacturing continued to flourish and grow, and mechanization in agriculture increased the efficiency of production and reduced the demand for labor. People who were farm laborers became laborers in the manufacturing sector, especially after the introduction of the gasoline-powered tractor.
In 1929, signs of a troubled economy began to surface. The stock market was greatly affected because investors were borrowing large amounts of money to purchase stocks. In late October, the stock market crash had a profound effect on all business activity. Business activity continued to decline through 1932. This was the Great Depression—a worldwide depression. In 1933, a recovery began that lasted until 1937. There was again a decline in economic activity and a recession, which lasted until late in 1938.
The United States entered World War II in December 1941. Because of military operations, the demand for goods and services rose dramatically, employment levels increased, and consumers had more money to spend. The economy was on the mend but rising too rapidly, causing fears of inflation. These fears caused the government to set price ceilings on some products and to ration others. Following the war, the country converted from wartime to peacetime production, causing many industries to slowdown; but the economy continued to grow.
The Fourth Cycle This period, which began with 1950, has been characterized by many economic cycles. The first twenty years of this period saw satisfactory economic growth. The Korean conflict and the Vietnam War greatly influenced the economy. There were some downturns in the economy, but they were minimal. These occurred in 1953, 1957, and 1960. During this period, unemployment was becoming a problem because the demand for unskilled labor was decreasing and the labor force was growing at a rate faster than the demand for employees.
In more recent years, the economy has grown and prospered. There has been a shift to a service economy, which has largely resulted from rapid changes in technology. In this last cycle, there have been recessions that have been relatively short but have caused hardships for some business sectors. There was a period of recession from 1973 to 1975, in 1980, and again in late 1981. Inflation was a severe problem in 1981, and recovery didn't start again until late in 1982. Then, in late 1987, the stock market crash caused problems for many businesses and investors. In addition to those events, there have been several smaller cycles. | 
