The East Coast, in particular, benefited from the postwar economy. The development of wheat farming in California meant surpluses of wheat with a kernel hard enough to withstand months at sea, and this new crop, combined with increasing trade of eastern manufactured goods, brought real wealth to the East. Up and down the New England coast, shipyards turned out the trim and ship-shape “Down-Easters” that carried American goods to harbors all over the world.
