1918

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The United States of America in 1918

  

    By the end of World War I, the demographics of the country had begun to change. The United States was more urbanized, and its population older. The population in the country was 105 million, a gain of 39 percent in 2 decades. The median age was 25. Reflecting the strength of the economy, unemployment nationally was 1.4  precent. Women made up 20.4 percent of the U.S. workforce. 


    Compared with 1901, average family income had more than doubled, to $1,518 (a 102-percent increase), while household expenditures had increased to $1,434 (an 86-percent gain).  Retail prices had almost tripled and spending for housing had increased 86.6 percent, to $334 . 


Butter - 51 cents a pound

Coffee- 9 cents a pound

Eggs - 49 cents a dozen

Campbells Soup - 10 cents a can

Hershey Bar - 3 cents a bar

Kelloggs Corn Flakes - 8 cents a box

January 3, 1918: US Employment Service opens as a unit of the Dept. of Labor

More facts from 1918:


President:  Woodrow Wilson (D-New Jersey)

Vice President:  Thomas R. Marshall (D-Indiana)


World War I ends.


Influenza kills over 675,000 Americans.


Top Song is Over There by Enrico Caruso.

   

Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series (4 - 2).


Tarzan of the Apes won the Oscars for best picture, director, and cinematography. 


And the Studebaker Special was the only car introduced in 1918.