The economy grew rapidly between 1865 and 1915 and a great deal of Americans prospered during this time because of economic development. This growth was heavily encouraged by government action as the government encouraged innovation and economic rights which led growth to a boom of growth as well as production, causing wages to increase and the quality of life for Americans to increase along with this. Though quality of life increased for many Americans through the government’s push for economic growth, there were many who suffered and were exploited as a result of this growth and who did not enjoy the same quality of life that many Americans enjoyed during this period of time. Growth exploded during this period and there was a great deal of technological improvements and economic policies that contributed to the success of this period and “technological innovation helped the United States to become both a modern nation and a global power in the late 19th century” (Lecture 2, Inventive society). In fact some of the greatest technological innovations took place during this time. The government played a strong role in encouraging this development and innovation and led the ways itself in innovation projects, especially the U.S. Army and Navy who took “the unusual step of joining forces in a common development project” which would allow them to more quickly develop and acquire airship technology (Graham & Pruitt, 159). During this time, “Vast natural resources coupled with new inventions and processes created a growing national industrial economy” (Lecture 2, Inventive Society). This allowed the United States to become a huge power during this time and for income to increase for many Americans and to allow production to be at an all time high in the country. The government control was extremely important in this atmosphere and helped contribute to the incredible growth in this area. The government encouraged production, allowing GDP output to double during this time. The government backed research labs and provided grants and other types of assistance which allowed individuals to prosper and for technology to be used to increase production. This was especially true in cases such as the government backed aluminum research plant in equipoise (Graham & Pruitt). Though this led to growth and increased production this did get out of hand to the point that there was in fact too much production and not enough consumption which the government did not seem to recognize and as a result continued to push production (Lecture 1). An overproduction of products was not the only problem that manifested itself in this growth period