Economically. the 1920s was a very prosperous decade. the number of millionaires skyrocketed during the decade and many people were filled with a general sense of optimism. Several factors contributed to this booming economy. One factor that contributed to business growth was that the federal government lifted many economic regulations. When Republican Warren Harding was elected President in 1920 he promised a "RETURN TO NORMALCY"? What Harding and other Republicans meant was doing away with antitrust laws and other business regulations that had been put in place during the Progressive Era and WWI. Corporations and banks were now free to act without federal oversight this led to short-term growth, but it did create some long-term problems the following decade. In this atmosphere of prosperity, Americans were in a buying mood and a new consumer culture began to emerge. Many new and exciting products were available for the average American consumer, and they were now mass-produced and therefore more affordable. Henry Ford introduced the ASSEMBLY LINE to mass-produces famous Model T. Other industries followed Ford's example producing washing machines, vacuum cleaners and electric stoves. Coinciding with lower costs, higher wages led to more disposable income for many Americans which they were eager to spend on entertainment and big ticket items like appliances and especially the radio. A new wave of mass advertising swept the country enticing consumers to spend their earnings on a variety of brand-name products. And to encourage spending even more, many banks and companies offered generous credit to consumers. Many Americans took advantage of the buy now pay later concept. while this did help the economy, it also created a lot of consumer DEBT, which as we will see became a huge problem. Despite the booming economy there were many warning signs that this prosperity was threatening to come to an abrupt end. For one thing, despite the growing wealth of the country, that wealth was not very evenly distributed. There were many more millionaires than ever however that percentage was still relatively small. Another warning sign was the crisis of American farmers. Farmers faced a unique problem. Farm production increased, but this increase in production did not translate into profit. As agricultural supplies increased, the price of food went down. In addition to lower profits, farmers were also in debt to banks. Debt was a problem not just for farmers. Many consumers relied too much on credit. This created the illusion that customers would continue to buy which then led to an OVERPRODUCTION of consumer goods. Like food prices, overproduction of consumer goods also leads to a decrease in profits. Lastly there was the Stock Market. Stock Market speculation was rampant throughout the 1920s. It seemed that everyone was in the market as it looked like an easy way to get rich. If you cannot afford to buy stock, Stock brokers offered credit. This is known as BUYING STOCKS ON MARGIN. Banks, also bet their investors savings by gambling in the stock market. This works well as long as the Stock Market continues to grow. However a Stock Market Bubble was beginning to form and all bubbles eventually burst. The Stock Market Bubble did burst in October of 1929 and the ramifications of this crash led to a Great Depression that lasted throughout the next decade.