Prices Begin a Slow Rise, 1897–1909

In retrospect it was clear that an enduring shift in US prices began around 1897. Economist Wesley Mitchell recalled “the great rise of prices between 1897 and 1907. People spoke freely of a price revolution.” This shift was more dramatic in wholesale than in retail prices, however. Between 1897 and 1909 wholesale prices surged 47 percent. Consumer prices rose 13 percent from 1897 through 1907, dipped to a mere 9 percent increase by 1909, and then jumped to 14 percent above 1897 in 1910. Reflecting the slower growth of consumer prices, public concern about rising prices in the US was real but sporadic until 1910.