By the Numbers (An Invitation)

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Mar 03 2009

By the Numbers (An Invitation)

Published by vetmichael at 8:50 pm under Politics and History Edit This

All teleology, historicism, and interpretations aside, the whole purpose of history as a discipline is two-fold; first, to show change over time and second, to explain why that change occurred. Unfortunately, while many historians - both professional and amateur - can agree on the data that proves change over time, there is furious debate over exactly how or why that change occurred. So, in an effort (ongoing at Fearless History) to show change over time in our collective history, I am presenting some data on America’s culture, economy, and other aspects that are from reputable sources and I am interested in hearing how others interpret that data. I am therefore extending an invitation to all you who visit the site to explain the changes I am producing below. Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you.

NB: All dollars are given in real amounts, not adjusted for inflation. (*) “HC is an abbreviation of “Real Dollars;” this is a measure of inflation in that a baseline of $1 worth of goods in 1900 is measured against what a similar amount of goods would cost in that decade’s dollars.

Median Salary | Median Housing | Cost of RD*

1900: $676 | $3600 |N/A

1910: $750 | $6900 |1.00

1920: $1236 | $11600 |2.02

1930: $1368 | $12200 | 1.69

1940: $1299 | $10000 | 1.41

1950: $2992 | $24900 | 2.43

1960: $4743 | $29000 | 2.99

1970: $7564 | $26600 | 3.92

1980: $15757 | $47000 | 8.32

1990: $27809 | $83900 | 13.20

2000: $55714 | $119,600 | 17.39