ABSTRACT
After World War I the basic desire of the American people was to return to “normalcy"—meaning prewar conditions. Almost at once after the Armistice was signed, the government began to remove economic controls and to cancel war contracts. Military demobilization and industrial reconversion, though not planned systematically, were carried through quickly without serious dislocations. Surplus materials were disposed of in bargain sales at home and abroad, war contracts were adjusted, and 4,000,000 veterans were absorbed in civilian employment. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 permitted the Shipping Board to sell about 40 per cent of the American merchant marine. In 1920 the Railroad Transportation Act returned the nation’s railroads to private management.
