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The railroads were temporarily nationalized between 1917 and 1920 by the United States Railroad Administration, because of American entry into World War I. Railroad mileage peaked at this time. Railroads were affected deeply by the Great Depression in the United States, and some lines were abandoned.
This worsening situation for railroad workers led to strikes against many railroads, culminating in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, involving over 100,000 people in multiple cities. [ 58 ] The Great Strike began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia , in response to the cutting of wages for the second time in a year by the B&O Railroad.
Many individuals and companies have a claim to being the first railroad in the United States, but by the mid-1830s several companies were using steam-powered locomotives to move train cars on rail tracks. Between 1840 and 1860, the total length of railroad trackage increased from 3,326 to 30,600 miles (5,350 to 49,250 km). [44]
The United States has a highly developed mixed economy. [44] [45] [46] It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). [47]As of 2024, it has the world's sixth highest nominal GDP per capita and eighth highest GDP per capita by PPP). [10]
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The third economic downturn was the depression of the late 1830s to 1843, following the Panic of 1837, when the money supply in the United States contracted by about 34 percent with prices falling by 33 percent. The magnitude of this contraction is matched only by the Great Depression.
In 1970, the United States government spent just over $80 billion on national defense. Over the next two decades, national defense spending increased steadily to around $300 billion per year. [ 11 ] Military spending fell in the 1990s, but increased markedly in the 2000s as a result of the War in Afghanistan and Iraq .
This is currently over half of U.S. government spending, the remainder coming from state and local governments. During FY2022, the federal government spent $6.3 trillion. Spending as % of GDP is 25.1%, almost 2 percentage points greater than the average over the past 50 years.