Tears sprang to his eyes as he imagined the situation. The price of food had skyrocketed. Corn, which used to be a few pennies, now cost more than $2,000 for the same amount! And the prices continued to climb.
Hyperinflation.
He knew it had happened in Germany after WWI. He had heard "doom and gloom" projections about it happening in America if government spending wasn't reined in. But how had he missed the fact that such a thing had already happened in the United States during the Revolutionary War?
The Price of Corn in 1780
I am constantly amazed at how many gaps there are in my knowledge. And it's not because I wasn't exposed to this content earlier in life. It's just that such information didn't matter to me then. Now, with our current economic situation, the fact that the price of a bushel of corn rose to over two thousand dollars seems like an important bit of information to learn from.
And this from a book in Core D. Economic failure is a side note really--just a plot point to move things along. And yet, in this story, we can feel the impact of such a financial fiasco. And I, as a child, missed it and forgot about hyperinflation in America. Until today, when I had the opportunity to revisit Carry On, Mr. Bowditch and the stress of the situation took my breath away!
What parts of history have you been surprised to learn--or relearn--about since you started homeschooling your children?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
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