Question #51 America (U.S) has economically hit its highs and lows over its 2 ½ centuries of its existence, but none have been more surprising than the Great Depression period from 1929-1933. During first major low in society the stock market crashed due to citizen’s overuse of credit. This wasn’t the only problem there was also a great drought in America’s agricultural plains. Many farmers lost their crops and most of their land, creating a small scale famine in the U.S. People were laid off and people couldn’t provide for their family. One citizen during this time still had a vivid memory of these times,”In New York neighborhoods adults stood in so called 'bread lines,' children begged in the streets.” One major contributor to the Great
Imagine this. You wake up one morning in the year 1929, in your luxurious, pricey mansion. You then make your way downstairs to eat that nice big breakfast. Then you kiss your family good bye and head off to your fancy job. You come home that evening and suddenly you’re flat broke. Meaning all your money and life’s savings vanished. Unreal right? Well it was real for hundreds of families on October 29, 1929. The day the stock market crashed and when America’s confidence was challenged greatly.
There are many things that factor in as causing The Great Depression. I believe the biggest factors to be money and confidence. Even though by year end of 1930 the stock market had recouped some of the money lost in the previous years’ loss with the devastating Black Tuesday. The US and the rest of the world would continue to feel the devastating effects of banks failing, high unemployment rates, reduced trade and purchasing of over produced goods, and a negative impact to agricultural. This would not only put a dent in the people’s confidence with the stock market and banks but also government would need to step up in a big way to get things somewhat back on track.
The America in the 1930s was drastically different from the luxurious 1920s. The stock market had crashed to an all time low, unemployment was the highest the country had ever seen, and all American citizens were affected by it in some way or another. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal was effective in addressing the issues of The Great Depression in the sense that it provided immediate relief to US citizens by lowering unemployment, increasing trust in the banks, getting Americans out of debt, and preventing future economic crisis from taking place through reform. Despite these efforts The New Deal failed to end the depression. In order for America to get out of this economic
The Great Depression was a very influential era in American history, affecting many future generations. One of the most prevalent impacts it had on society was the extreme poverty that swept across the nation, affecting both people in cities and in the country. The main cause for this poverty was the mass loss of jobs among the middle class. Millions lost their jobs and consequently their homes. Families lived out of tents and cars in shanty towns or Hoovervilles. In these camps, many people didn’t have their basic human needs met, children and adults alike starved. They lived in clothes that were caked in dirt and tattered, too small for growing children and too cold for the frail elderly. Government relief programs attempted to help but offered little support to the now impoverished families of the millions that lost everything.
The stock market crash of 1929 sent the nation spiraling into a state of economic paralysis that became known as the Great Depression. As industries shrank and businesses collapsed or cut back, up to 25% of Americans were left unemployed. At the same time, the financial crisis destroyed the life savings of countless Americans (Modern American Poetry). Food, housing and other consumable goods were in short supply for most people (Zinn 282). This widespread state of poverty had serious social repercussions for the country.
Historians argue what caused the Great Depression, some say it was due to the stock market, others say it may be the war debt or overproduction. To believe the Great Depression was caused by only one event is naive. It was caused by a multitude of problems that the government failed to fix.
The Great Depression was a devastating time for many Americans. From 1929 to 1932, the US experienced an economic downturn that was calamitous to the lives of many people. Millions upon millions of Americans lost everything when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. After exiting an era that left people living a life of luxury, the stock market crash came as a surprise. As a result of the stock market crash, many became unemployed and many families were being forced to close their businesses. Although there were many factors that contributed to the cause of the Great Depression, the three main causes were The Stock Market Crash of 1929, high unemployment, a decrease in consumer purchases due to being “stuffed with stuff” during the roaring twenties.
The two sources are both primary because they are documented letters by individuals who wrote letters to prominent people in certain positions of authority during the “Great Depression.” The first letter was written by a taxpayer from Hornell, New York March 7, 1934 and the other letter was written by a male (D.B.P.) during the timeline reference of 1929-1939. The questions the first letter raises are about the relief agencies in the United States and the possible need for investigation of the type of work the agencies were performing. The other questions dealt with are the agencies giving relief to ignorant foreigners who might not be citizens deserving of assistance because they were here in the United States by illegal means. The first letter considering the frame of reference during the time of the “Great Depression” of 1929 – 1939 digressed toward immigration and
In 1929 the Stock Market crashed was said to have “ushered in” the Great Depression. After Wall Street and the Stock Market crash of 1929, the banks began to fail. By 1933 over half of the banks in the United States had failed and went out of business. The economy came to a full stop as businesses could no longer access credit lines to purchase inventory, checks were no longer accepted as currency due to the multitude of failing financial institutions which led to an unemployment rate reported to be as much as 30 percent of the available workforce. (“First measured century: Timeline,” n.d.)
Contrary to popular belief, the Great Depression went beyond the shore of the United States and had a major impact on multiple countries. All countries involved in trade with the United States were greatly affected- one of these being Germany. When our stock market crashed, the production of various products were put to an abrupt hault. Without the necessary money and supplies to manufacture products, there was no way to do so. Then, this resulted in the loss of jobs by many factory workers bringing the unemployment rate in the US to a mind-boggling 24.75% in 1933.
America has been through many depressions. But it took an amazing president to solve the problem. Franklin D. Roosevelt has did many things for America. He brought us out of the Great Depression and his policies has helped us all.
After the Civil War, America started experiencing prosperous times in terms economic boom. However, in September, 1929 things took a different twist when the stock prices fell abruptly, eventually leading to the stock market crash the following October. This, combined with rising personal debt triggered the Great Depression, the worst economic collapse since the onset of industrialization. The ensuing effect was collapse of banks, closure of businesses and a quarter of the employed Americans lost their jobs. Further, families became homeless and some resorted to camping out on the Great Lawn in New York City, which was an empty reservoir then.
In the 1930s, several economic, political, and environmental factors caused Americans to lose hope of a future beyond the extreme circumstances in which they had to survive. America prospered during the roaring ‘20s, but the stock market crash of October 1929 set off a devastating chain of events; banks and factories closed and one out of every four Americans found himself unemployed. The sudden economic collapse began the era of the Great Depression, in which millions were jobless by 1933 and countless others wandered the country in search of work, food and shelter. “The core of the problem was the immense disparity between the country’s productive capacity and the ability of the people to consume” (Nelson). The economic downturn coupled
A devastating event such as the Great Depression occured in 1929. In the month of May the stock maret had a change. Bankholders lost more than 30 billion dollars, although bankers began to regain the losses it wasnt enough. Bank failures began taking place in the 1930’s, due to uncertain banks, many people began to loose their savings. Because of the stock market crash many people from all classes stopped purchasing items. This led to a reduction in item production and a decrease in the workforce. Due to bussiness failings, the government created a tariff that protected companies in which created a high taxe charging in imports causing the decrease of trade with foreign countries. The result of the great depression were immense across the globe
It is 1929, the stock market has unexpectedly crashed, and we are currently in the deepest and darkest economic decline. Industrial output is in a downward spiral and levels of unemployment are quickly rising as a result of failing companies disposing of their employees. It is now 1933, and 20% to 25% (13 to 15 million) of Americans are unemployed with nearly half of the country’s banks failing and depositors have lost over $140 billions in savings. Millions of people are starving and are living in ghettos or hoovervilles. Poor farming methods have led to an increase in the Dust Bowl, which is destroying towns and farming fields. Over a third of farmers defaulting on loans taken out during years of prosperity, selling land at records levels.