section_path: History/19th century
section_name: 19th century
paragraph_text: 19th century
  
  In 180 years, the United States grew to become a huge, integrated, and industrialized economy, which made up about a fifth of the world economy. In that process, the U.S. GDP per capita rose past that of many other countries, supplanting the British Empire at the top. The economy maintained high wages, attracting immigrants by the millions from all over the world. In the 1820s and 1830s, mass production shifted much of the economy from artisans to factories. New government regulations strengthened patents.
  
  Early in the 19th century, more than 80 percent of Americans engaged in farming. Most of the manufacturing centered on the first stages of the transformation of raw materials, with lumber and sawmills, textiles, and boots and shoes leading the way. The rich natural resources contributed to the rapid economic expansion of the nineteenth century. Ample land allowed the number of farmers to keep growing; but activity in manufacturing, services, transportation, and other sectors grew much faster, so that by 1860 the population was only about 50 percent rural, down from over 80 percent.
  
  In the 19th century, recessions frequently coincided with financial crises. The Panic of 1837 was followed by a five-year depression, marked by bank failures and unprecedented unemployment. Because of the great changes in the economy over the centuries, it is difficult to compare the severity of modern recessions to that of early recessions. Recessions after World War II appear to have been less severe than earlier recessions, but the reasons for this are unclear.
  
  In 180 years, the United States grew to become a huge, integrated, and industrialized economy, which made up about a fifth of the world economy. In that process, the U.S. GDP per capita rose past that of many other countries, supplanting the British Empire at the top. The economy maintained high wages, attracting immigrants by the millions from all over the world. In the 1820s and 1830s, mass production shifted much of the economy from artisans to factories. New government regulations strengthened patents.
  
  Early in the 19th century, more than 80 percent of Americans engaged in farming. Most of the manufacturing centered on the first stages of the transformation of raw materials, with lumber and sawmills, textiles, and boots and shoes leading the way. The rich natural resources contributed to the rapid economic expansion of the nineteenth century. Ample land allowed the number of farmers to keep growing; but activity in manufacturing, services, transportation, and other sectors grew much faster, so that by 1860 the population was only about 50 percent rural, down from over 80 percent.
  
  In the 19th century, recessions frequently coincided with financial crises. The Panic of 1837 was followed by a five-year depression, marked by bank failures and unprecedented unemployment. Because of the great changes in the economy over the centuries, it is difficult to compare the severity of modern recessions to that of early recessions. Recessions after World War II appear to have been less severe than earlier recessions, but the reasons for this are unclear.
  
  In 180 years, the United States grew to become a huge, integrated, and industrialized economy, which made up about a fifth of the world economy. In that process, the U.S. GDP per capita rose past that of many other countries, supplanting the British Empire at the top. The economy maintained high wages, attracting immigrants by the millions from all over the world. In the 1820s and 1830s, mass production shifted much of the economy from artisans to factories. New government regulations strengthened patents.
  
  Early in the 19th century, more than 80 percent of Americans engaged in farming. Most of the manufacturing centered on the first stages of the transformation of raw materials, with lumber and sawmills, textiles, and boots and shoes leading the way. The rich natural resources contributed to the rapid economic expansion of the nineteenth century. Ample land allowed the number of farmers to keep growing; but activity in manufacturing, services, transportation, and other sectors grew much faster, so that by 1860 the population was only about 50 percent rural, down from over 80 percent.
  
  In the 19th century, recessions frequently coincided with financial crises. The Panic of 1837 was followed by a five-year depression, marked by bank failures and unprecedented unemployment. Because of the great changes in the economy over the centuries, it is difficult to compare the severity of modern recessions to that of early recessions. Recessions after World War II appear to have been less severe than earlier recessions, but the reasons for this are unclear.