Period of 1919-1929
During this period the Federal Reserve, having been birthed on Jekyll Island in 1913, increased the money supply after the First World War, leading to a recession, the "forgotten recession" of 1920-1921. Warren Harding refused to intervene which made the recession end quickly, however the Fed tightened, and pursued an inflationary policy during the 1920's which lead to the crash of 1929.
Period of 1929-1945
FDR and Hoover, worried about deflation, which they mistakenly believed was the cause of the Depression, pursued massive inflation through the Federal Reserve, which made the Depression last longer than it should have been. Contrary to popular belief, the New Deal did not get America out of the Depression and was an epic failure. Contrary to popular belief World War II spending did not get us out of the Depression either, and it was not until 1946, when war spending fell by two-thirds that real economic growth began.
Period of 1981-1988
After the 21% inflation of the Carter era under President Reagan the Fed, instead of its easy money policy, pursued a hard money policy which kept the economy afloat throughout the 1980's.
Period of 1993-2000
The economy experienced a massive growth under Clinton however this was misleading as this was mainly caused by overseas investment and the "trade deals" which enriched many of America's millionaires. The Federal Reserve still lends out money during this period, which was the policy still when George W. Bush took office.
Period of 2000-2007
More money was printed during this time period than in the rest of the nation's history. After 9-11 the Federal Reserve kept interest rates low, until the economy again tightened and the market crashed.
And this leads us to today. Obama is doing the same mistakes here by letting the Fed continue to print money and not let prices fall, hence why there is still inflation and no real economic growth.