What was a my reason for the post-war cash crunch in america ?

the decline in the American manufacturing industry. France’s demand for repayment of America’s war debt. Rising inflation and unemployment decline in American. Imports from Britain rising trade imbalance with Britain.

You might say that if America was going to be competitive in the world, it needed to industrialize.  The Industrial Revolution that began in Britain had expanded all across Europe before the United States really began its own industrialization.

But the big event that really propelled industrialization in the US forward was the Civil War.  There had been some slow, steady growth of industry in the early 1800s.  But after the Civil War, industrialization in the US exploded, and the US soon was outpacing all European competitors.  Machines replaced manual labor. Railroads connected the country for commerce.  New inventions were introduced to the market.  New sources of power (like electricity) were utilized.  The growth of the American economy was rapid in the late 1800s and early 1900s.