S. economy from one with an emphasis on imports to one with an emphasis on exports. The shift to the gold exchange standard further facilitated this, as foreign exchange was ultimately converted to gold, and U.S. wealth grew rapidly in the 1920s (Smiley, 2010). There were a number of beneficiaries from this economic expansion. On average, most Americans benefited from the expansion in terms of increased wealth and living standards and the federal government saw its revenues increase (de Rugy, 2003). However, wealth disparity grew rapidly during this period as well. By 1929, the richest one percent of U.S. households held 45% of national wealth, in stark contrast to the first one hundred plus years of the nation's history (DeLong, 1997). With declining immigration and birthrates during the decade, the rise in economic wealth was nevertheless able to find its way to the pockets of working Americans, despite the increase in wealth disparity that was occurring.

However, when the 1920s ended, it became clear that some of those beneficiaries did not benefit...

At the time, benefits were widespread but only for the wealthier classes were those benefits substantial enough to weather future economic storms.
Works Cited:

De Long, B. (1997). Slouching towards Utopia? The economic history of the 20th century. University of California at Berkeley. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/tceh/slouch_roaring13.html

de Rugy, V. (2003). 1920s income tax cuts sparked economic growth and raised federal revenues. Cato Institute. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3015

Schultz, S. & Tishler, W. (no date). Civil War to the present. University of Wisconsin. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture15.html

Smiley, G. (2010). The U.S. economy in the 1920s. EH.net. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http:/ / the.net/encyclopedia/article/Smiley.1920s.final