Historical Inflation Calculator 1774 to Present

Inflation Calculations from 1774 to Present

If you want a fun calculator to give you an annual estimate of inflation back to the time of Washington and Jefferson, this “SteamPunk Style” Calculator is the calculator for you.

Unlike most inflation calculators that only go back as far as the Bureau of Labor Statistics data (1913) our Historical Inflation Calculator uses estimated data compiled by  Lawrence H. Officer and Samuel H. Williamson, ‘The Annual Consumer Price Index for the United States, 1774-Present at the University of Oregon. This data goes back to 1774. The interesting thing is that prior to 1913 prices didn’t always inflate. Many years had deflation, often fairly significant. If the period selected was deflationary, our calculator will not only give you a negative inflation number but will also note it as “Deflation”.

Having a Gold Standard, without a Central Bank, prices fluctuated based on weather conditions and gold supply rather than the whims of a government agency. An interesting factor of not having a Central Bank that can create “money” out of thin air was that wars were actually less likely, because to finance a war, governments had to find either soldiers willing to fight without pay (the Revolutionary War and Valley Forge) or they had to find investors willing to finance the war.

Throughout history, many wars were so expensive that rulers couldn’t fund them through taxes alone and had to seek private investors, bankers, or bond markets to finance them. Here are some major examples:

• Hundred Years’ War- England and France both relied heavily on loans from merchant bankers (notably Italian banking families like the Bardi and Peruzzi). King Edward III’s defaults even contributed to major banking collapses in Florence.
• Thirty Years’ War- European states borrowed extensively from merchant financiers. Armies were often funded through credit arrangements with wealthy backers who expected repayment via taxation or territorial concessions.

Many historians argue that modern financial capitalism developed largely because of the need to fund large-scale wars. But others argue that the creation of Central Banks has made the financing of unpopular wars easier and thus more frequent, since governments no longer need to find willing lenders.

An interesting fact: Without a Central Bank Prices in 1774 Were Very Similar to Prices in 1913-

• Over nearly 140 years, the average price level in 1913 was not dramatically higher than colonial-era levels.
• In contrast, from 1913 to today, prices have increased many multiples over.
• Although, the pre-Fed era was volatile in the short run, but long-term price levels were surprisingly consistent.

The Historical Inflation Calculator is based on Annual Averages

Because the calculator is based on annual averages rather than the actual month-to-month CPI index, results may be slightly different than those of our Cumulative Inflation Calculator. If you want more precision for the years since 1913, use the Cumulative Inflation calculator. If you want a fun calculator to give you an annual estimate of inflation back to the time of Washington and Jefferson, this “SteamPunk Style” Calculator is the calculator for you.

After entering the “Starting Year”, “Ending Year”, and “Starting Amount”, you can either hit “enter” or click the “Calculate” button and watch the fun as lights flash, gears spin, the light bar fills, and it chugs out the answer. Click the “Reset” to run the Calculator again.

SteamPunk Historical Inflation Calculator

$

Calculate

Historical Data Table

The following data table is the one used by the 1774 Historical Inflation Calculator. Remember, the CPI and Inflation numbers on this table are the annual average numbers, so they should be roughly equivalent to the monthly numbers for June or July on the 1913-Present BLS CPI-U index, except on rare occasions.

Historical Inflation since 1774

Note: The inflation rate for 1774 is unknown (not Zero) since we don’t have estimated CPI data for 1773.

Historical Inflation Facts from 1774-1913

From 1774 to 1913 (the pre-Federal Reserve era in the U.S.), inflation and deflation were often sharp, politically explosive, and tied directly to wars, banking structure, and the gold/silver standard. Here are some of the most interesting facts from that period:

From 1774 to 1913 (the pre-Federal Reserve era in the U.S.), inflation and deflation were often sharp, politically explosive, and tied directly to wars, banking structure, and the gold/silver standard. Here are some of the most interesting facts from that period:

The Revolutionary War Caused Hyperinflation

American Revolutionary War

• The Continental Congress printed “Continentals” to finance the war.
• By 1780, they had become nearly worthless — giving rise to the phrase:
  “Not worth a Continental.”
• Prices rose roughly several hundred percent during the war.
• This early inflation trauma shaped America’s later distrust of paper money.

 The First Two Central Bank Experiments

• Created to stabilize currency and credit.
• Their existence helped moderate inflation.
• Opposed by Jefferson and Madison

First Bank of the United States

• Proposed by Alexander Hamilton in 1790
• Designed to Consolidate Revolutionary War Debt
• Had a limited 20-year Charter
• 20% Federal 80% Private
• Didn’t Control Monetary Policy
• Charter expired in 1811 by a narrow vote.

Second Bank of the United States

• Created after the financial chaos of the War of 1812.
• Goal: restore monetary order after state banks overissued paper money and suspended specie (gold) payments.
• Assertive in restraining state bank lending.
• Dismantled under Andrew Jackson, but banking instability increased.
• The following decades saw frequent boom-bust cycles and periodic deflation.

The Long Deflation After the Civil War (1865–1896)

American Civil War

• The war itself caused inflation due to “greenbacks.”
• But after the war, the U.S. moved back toward a hard gold standard.
• Between 1865 and the mid-1890s:
  • Prices fell roughly 30–50%.
  • This was one of the longest peacetime deflations in U.S. history.
• Real wages rose, but:
  • Farmers and debtors suffered.
  • Fixed debts became harder to repay.
• This fueled the Free Silver movement and populist politics.

The Gold Standard Was Deflationary by Design

From the 1870s onward, the U.S. adhered strictly to gold.

• Money supply growth depended on gold mining output.
• When gold production lagged behind economic growth, prices fell.
• The economy could grow strongly while prices declined — something almost unimaginable today.

Major gold discoveries later changed this dynamic:

• Klondike Gold Rush (1896)
• South African gold expansion

These discoveries helped reverse deflation by increasing the money supply.

Repeated Financial Panics

Without a central bank (1836–1913), the U.S. had frequent banking crises:

• Panic of 1837
• Panic of 1873
• Panic of 1893
• Panic of 1907

These often triggered:

• Sharp deflation
• Bank runs
• Credit collapses

The Panic of 1907 was so severe that private banker J. P. Morgan personally organized rescues — a key reason the Federal Reserve System was eventually created.

Inflation Was Mostly Wartime

From 1774 to 1913, most major inflation episodes were tied to war:

• Revolutionary War → hyperinflation
• War of 1812 → inflation
• Civil War → significant inflation

Peacetime was often deflationary or price-stable under metallic standards.

 Prices in 1913 Were Similar to those in 1774

One of the most surprising facts:

• Over nearly 140 years, the average price level in 1913 was not dramatically higher than colonial-era levels.
• In contrast, from 1913 to today, prices have increased many multiples over.

The pre-Fed era was volatile, but long-term price levels were surprisingly mean-reverting.

 Economic Growth With Falling Prices

Between 1870 and 1900:

• The U.S. industrialized rapidly.
• Railroads expanded nationwide.
• Steel and manufacturing boomed.

Yet prices generally fell.

This period challenges the modern assumption that:

Deflation always equals depression.

In the 19th century, productivity-driven deflation often coexisted with strong real growth.

You might Also Like

• Historical Inflation 1913-1919
• WWI – The beginning of the of the CPI the Inflationary period 1913 – 1919
• The “Roaring Twenties” Inflation and Deflation 1920-1929
• The Great Depression and the Deflationary 1930′s– 1930-1939
• World War II — the volatile 1940′s– High and Low Inflation 1940-1949
• The 1950′s “Happy Days”– Inflation and CPI 1950-1959
• The 1960′s the age of possibility– Low Inflation 1960-1969
• The Inflationary 1970’s Inflation and CPI 1970-1979
• The Reagan Era Lower Inflation 1980-1989
• The Decade of Free Enterprise Inflation 1990-1999
• FED Monetary Policy and Inflation
• Confederate Inflation 1861-1865
• Cumulative Inflation Calculator
• How Much Would it Cost after Inflation Calculator
• Flat Rate Inflation Calculator
• Backward Flat Rate Calculator

About Tim McMahon

Connect with Tim on Google+.

• Web
|
• Twitter
|
• Facebook
|
• LinkedIn
|
• More Posts(418)