<DIV>The central role of the housing market in the recent recession raised a series of questions about similar episodes throughout economic history. Were the underlying causes of housing and mortgage crises the same in earlier episodes? Has the onset and spread of crises changed over time? How have...</div>

Homebuilding added more than its fair share to the roar of the 1920s.  An urgent demand for housing after World War I fueled a residential construction boom that led to historic peaks in homeownership.  Foreclosures were rare, and when they did happen, lenders quickly recouped their losses...

<DIV>Workers' compensation was arguably the first widespread social insurance program in the United States and the most successful form of labor legislation to emerge from the early Progressive Movement. Adopted in most states between 1910 and 1920, workers' compensation laws have been paving seen as...</div>

<DIV>The urgent demand for housing after World War I fueled a boom in residential construction that led to historic peaks in home ownership. Foreclosures at the time were rare, and when they did happen, lenders could quickly recoup their losses by selling into a strong market. But no mortgage system...</div>