The Great Depression And Dust Bowl

During the 1920s the American people led themselves to their economic demise. In America, the Great Depression occurred during the 1930s after the crash of the stock market. “The Roaring Twenties”, which occurred before the Great Depression, was a time when the assembly line created more jobs and money to be used. This new economic prosperity, brought about the stock market, in which hundreds of Americans put in their money in hopes of their company making profits. The Great Depression was caused by stockholders using more money then they could pay back, workers using the non-shameful credit to buy products, which led Americans into debt, and the lack of demand, when there was an increase in supplies.

The Roaring Twenties is known as a time of prosperity due to consumerism and mass-production from the years 1920 to 1929. This era in American history could be considered one of the most excessive times to date. Because of the United States’ triumph in World War I, the country had its first involvement of being a world power. The increase of consumer goods greatly impacted the U.S. economy during this time of success. Also, the start of the airline industry along with the expansion of automobile manufacturers helped profit banks. Several Americans became dependent on the newly developed methods of payment, which eventually became the American standard way of living. The quest to achieve this ideal lifestyle also known as the American Dream led to a severe shift in the nation’s economy. Through both fiscal and monetary policy along with laissez-faire tactics, the Roaring Twenties ended with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, which was the precursor to the worst economic decline in history, The Great Depression.

As America continues to grow, it goes through many dramatic changes, and downfalls, allowing it to develop. The 1920s and the 1930s are examples of such time periods that enabled America to mature as a nation. Many Americans perceived the 1920s as a time of economic and social prosperity, while they regarded the 1930s as a time of economic and societal disaster. Though the differences are striking, the two decades are closely connected and both have their positives and negatives. For numerous Americans, the 1920s appeared to be a decade of welfare; it was a time of economic and social renewal.

The Dust Bowl was a devastating event occurring in the American midwest in 1935. Having more and more dust storms happening in the last couple of years, the Dust Bowl got its name after Black Sunday when the largest dust storm happened. On April 14, 1935, on the Plains of the United States and Canada. The soil in that area of the country is dry already and the fact that the soil had been severely overworked, caused the soil to lack nutrients, leading it to blow off the ground into these dust storms. Since farmers did not use soil erosion prevention methods, topsoil was able to blow off of the ground and into the air.

Farmers were affected by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. “Much of the Roaring '20s was a continual cycle of debt for the American farmer, stemming from falling farm prices and the need to purchase expensive machinery.” (UShistory.org). The farmers were struggling with money and affording the tools needed to grow a crop. The farming way of life was slowly fading away. During the era of the Dust Bowl, there was a major drought, so farmers struggled with maintaining enough water for their crops to grow.

In economic,the 1920s "boom" enriched only a fraction of the American people,and the farmers and industrial workers shared little.The boom was established on the unstable basement.Some monopolic organazations controlled the economic of country,which creating the distrIbution unequally among the citizen.Also,the distance between rich and poor was farther and farther.On the one thing,capitalist coverd higher profits than others.On another thing,most of the working people were poor

By the 1920s, the United States of America was the most economically powerful country. Their industries were very successful and they had a huge amount of resources. The USA had taken part in the First World War, but only took part late. Therefore, suffered relatively little. In fact, their industries benefitted because there was a great demand for war materials. In the 1920s the US flourished more than ever before, mainly because of mass-production techniques such as those used to make Ford automobiles cheap enough for plenty of people to buy.

     Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. According to Wintz:

The ‘Dirty Thirties’ is perhaps one of the most known time periods in American History. During the 1930s, the worst and longest drought occurred in the United States, this was also know as the Dust Bowl. According to Christopher Klein, the Dust Bowl is considered both a man-made and natural disaster. In fact, many events contributed to the Dust Bowl such as poor farming techniques, a severe drought, and economic depression.

The 1920s was one of the most impactful eras of the United States. Roles changed, money was plentiful and countless technological advances occur with excited everyone across the nation. A multitude of people believed it would be never ending, an endless celebration due to the end of a World War 1. Unfortunately, in 1929, the stock market had crashed. That event would be the first domino to fall and would continue to impact the country's economy. Eventually, it would result in massive unemployment, a halt in manufacturing and a great loss of money. American would enter a new dreadful time period known as the Great Depression.

The 1920s and 1930s were the years of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance. This period of the Roaring Twenties is said to have begun around the end of the war and lasted well until the Great Depression. Partially due to the migration of more and more African Americans into the north of the United States, the national literature, arts and music movement developed into something, until then, completely new and literary modernism spread further (Perkins and Perkins 212). The 1920s were a time of immense change, with women becoming eligible to vote, alcoholic beverages become prohibited to sell, and later on the crash of the stock market (Perkins and Perkins). With modernism and the invention of new things like the television, Americans

Almost one hundred and fifty years after the birth of the United States of America, the country and its people stepped unabashed into the modern age. Following years of gloom and war, the public desired change. Though it took some years after the close of World War 1, the United States began to evolve. With high tariffs, federal tax cuts, and the increase of mass production among other things, America’s economy began to grow rapidly. Economic growth occurred simultaneously with social and cultural growth and these factors brought WW1 America toward the modern age.

     During the 1920’s, four of America’s leading industries began to struggle. First, railroads had difficulties because of the growing competition from cars, trucks, and busses. Second, textiles floundered because of the foreign competition from India, China, Japan, and Latin America. Furthermore, the revolutionary transformation in women clothing reduced the amount of material needed and thus lowered the demand for cloth. Third, the coal mining industry struggled because of competition from cheaper, more widely available resources such as natural gas, oil, and hydroelectric power. Fourth, America’s agriculture industry staggered chiefly from overproduction. Many farmers borrowed money to expand their operations and couldn’t pay back their loans because the prices of crops dropped about 50 percent due to foreign agricultural competition.

The roaring twenties was a time filled with hope and change. President Warren G. Harding promised a “return to normalcy”, which reflected his own conservative values and the voters’ wants for stability and order. Americans felt that they had been through more than enough, and desired prosperity. During the years 1919 and 1920 the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments were passed; the outlaw of alcoholic beverages and the right for women to vote, which ones of the many reasons society was turning their backs on Progressivism. Republicans were beginning to return to their previous dominance. The 1920’s was an economic boom for America, including everything from an increase in jobs, a rise in plentiful goods, new consumer products, and the reduction of taxes. The country was filled with jazz music, dance, and what appeared to be a brighter future. The 1929 crash of stock market was the beginning of a downward spiral leading in to the Great Depression. The stock market crash is often to be confused as the cause of the Great Depression, although that is false. A few of the issues that lead to the Great Depression included; farming (which decreased in demand as farms increased through the states during World War I), banking, and mass unemployment. Capitalism took shape as what was once the individualistic Protestant work ethic was reshaped into industrial work on a grand scale. Each worker contributed to the greater good, and the workers were presided over by a boss

After World War 1, America had to demobilize and revert back to a peace time economy. During the 1920’s, it was viewed as a prosperous economy since there was a new labor force due to demobilization, new inventions, and a new infrastructure. Also moral spirits were high since America along with the Allied Powers defeated Germany and the Great War was finally over. However, America began making many economic policies and decisions that will eventually lead up to the Great Depression.