A Foolish Take: U.S. Financial History in 1 Chart

The chart that best captures the ups and downs in the financial history of the United States doesn't track economic growth or unemployment. It instead tracks annual bank failures.

Almost every major financial event has caused banks to fail over the past century and a half -- i.e., since the Civil War, which is when the modern American banking system was born out of a need to finance the conflict.

Data source: FDIC. Chart by author.

Source: Fool.com