Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?'

Towards the end of the 1920’s the economy in America took a drastic turn. This was when Calvin Coolidge’s presidency had ended and changes in the government began to take place. “Just seven months after Herbert Hoover entered the White House, economic trouble mocked his campaign statement about being near ‘the final triumph over poverty.’ On October 24, 1929 panic swept the New York Stock Exchange as nearly 13 million shares changed hands” (Hamilton). The start to Hoover’s presidency was also the start of the Great Depression. His term consisted heavily on working on taking steps to bring America out of the drastic economic fall that they had just entered. He began taking action by launching public works programs, tax reductions, and the formation

The Roaring Twenties is known as an age of parties, jazz, and overspending. After World War I, the optimistic American people reacted by celebrating and overspending. They purchased new appliances such as cars, radios and refrigerators; they purchased luxury items like clothes and invested in stocks. Their new attitude towards the booming American economy was carefree, leading to a series of events. First the stock market crashed. Next, the banks failed. Then, companies laid off employees who were unable to make the payments on the items they purchased. Tariffs and droughts further complicated the situation. This decade became known as the Great Depression, because the economic setbacks impacted everyone and everything. But the question is “Why did Americans lose so much money in such a short period of time?” One answer is, the failing stock market. A second is unregulated banking systems which allowed for buying on margin. Third, the lifestyle following World War I was too materialistic. The Great Depression was caused by Americans failing to responsibly manage their money.

The 1920s was known for its prosperous and flamboyant lifestyle. The GDP during that time had risen by 30 percent and unemployment was as at an all-time low of 3 percent. This was not meant to last forever. In fact, it was nearly impossible for this to last any longer than it did due to an imbalance that society was unaware of including that not every citizen was experiencing this uncommon wealth. There were still 3 percent unemployed and even some of the employed members of society did not make enough to support a family and were considered homeless. It was in October of 1929 when this so-called luxurious lifestyle vanished as the stock market crashed at a time when the stock market seemed it would never stop increasing. This caused an economic, downhill, rolling ball effect. Those who took out loans to invest in stocks could not afford to repay the banks causing the banks to fail and close down. When the banks closed down, the depositors of that bank lost their life savings causing them to go broke and some company owners to close their doors. This led to a loss of jobs by the employers of those companies. This time period was known as the Great Depression and rightfully so. It is the most significant setback in the American Economy to date. The Herbert Hoover administration was in effect at this time giving the society an easy target to blame. Come time for the next election in 1932, Americans were ready for a change in authority to bring them out of this seemingly black

Photography is everywhere in this World today. Advancements throughout the 1930’s where emotions were extremely impacted, helped to set the base for future advancements and ideas that would lie ahead for generations to come. The impact that photography had on the United States during the Great Depression in a time of dire struggle was unlike any other. This movement was able to document images that may never be able to be matched again in its uniqueness and emotional

Economically the United States had its highs and lows. One would have not wanted to be an American during the time period of the "Great Depression". The depression lasted from 1929-1940 and brought hard times for any family across the continent. In Midwest families who relied on farming were hit with sudden and drastic economic droughts known as The Dust Bowl. Along with the depression came unemployment and sent the United States into a tailspin. These rates of unemployment were at all time highs. These times were as hard as they get if you are American. Although they developed programs to help people in the depression rebound from

The 1920s is notorious for being a good time, with its reputation of being full of fun parties and extravagant living. Those wealthy enough were able to enjoy that along with all the other changes in American culture. In the 1920s the use of installment buying, credit, and stock market investments became a typical part of life. Technology that improved home life, like vacuums and radio, were desired, and these shifts in culture added to the stigma that good times would continue forever. The American people were not aware that common habits in the 1920s would lead to the Great Depression in the 1930s, during which unemployment reached over 25%, the economy struggled, and the fun times ended. The Great Depression was caused by experts that encouraged

The stock market crash, called Black Tuesday. Unequal distribution of wealth was a key factor during the time period as well. The day know as “Black Tuesday” was the day the stock market crashed. This led to the fall of stock prices, in fear, people sold their stocks and gathered the money they could. The people who didn’t, lost all of their stocks. Those who bought them on credit, they were now in debt. Investors lost a collective amount equal to the amount spent in WWI, that’s billions of dollars gone, approximately thirty-two billion dollars (32,000,000,000). As bad as the crash was, unequal distribution of wealth did not help. The rich saw an income increase of 70%, and the poor saw an increase of 9%. More than 70% of families earned less than $2500/year. Many of these families couldn't afford household products, such as the flood of overproduced goods. Only one out of ten families owned an electric refrigerator. One thing many people overlook when on the subject of the Great Depression is the president's influence on the situation. The two presidents during this time were Herbet Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hoover was in office during the collapse of the economy, he didn’t believe in national relief, he believed in self-prevalence and self-help. His beliefs didn’t get the confidence of the people, in 1933, a fourth of working American’s were out of a job, that’s more than fifteen million people unemployed. Many people disliked Hoover, so when they needed to make a home out of paper, glass, tin, or whatever they could find, they named the towns constructed from these items “Hoovervilles”. They were found mostly on the outside of cities. Hoover's idea of self-reliance didn’t get him reelected, he lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Roosevelt brought forward a new strategy to take on the economic problems, it was called the New Deal. The New Deal was a series of actions him and his

“On the morning of October 29, 1929, panicked voices shouted over one another. Here and there, men leaned against the walls, hands over their faces as if trying to shut out the scene. In the street outside, a crowd had gathered, trying to learn the news. A man staggered out the door, clutching his hat in both hands. He looked as though he might weep. “It’s gone,“ he whispered, so quietly only the few closest to him heard. “It’s all gone.”# The term ‘Great Depression’ according to Kristin Brennan evokes black-and-white images of thin men in threadbare suits and worn-out shoes selling five-cent apples on city streets, of “grim-faced women lined up three deep to collect bread and milk at relief stations.”# The Great Depression of the 1930s

In the 1929 and 1940 The Great Depression in history millions of people were out of work or they will soon to be out of one. It didn’t matter if you were Black , White HIspanic or Asian you will still would be unemployment even if you were really rich. Everything was crashing down there wasn’t jobs for people. Many banks failed then markets did as well.

During the 1920’s America was experiencing great economic growth. As WWI was ending Americans were out of energy. For almost 100 years they had been facing the problems of sectionalism, civil war, reconstruction, imperialism, and WWI. By the end they were ready to just sit back and party. Demand sky-rocketed and brought great economic growth. Americans failed to see the great problem looming overhead though. The Great Depression was caused by a combination of factors- a natural slowdown of the business cycle, weaknesses of the 1290’s economy magnified the slowdown, the republican response failed to help, a great environmental disaster, and the collapse of the world economy all contributed to the cause of the Great

The United States had just gained victory from World War I and was thriving. The period known as the roaring 20s was a time of success and materialism. Consumers were buying more and more products and spending money on credit. People were frivolously spending money and buying stock in the stock market. Although things may have appeared to be a time of success and prosperity, a storm was brewing and there were underlying weaknesses in the economy.

During the 1920s, the U.S. economy was flourishing, with this period being called the Roaring Twenties (“Great Depression”). People were spending money, stocks were high, and people were richer than ever, with the exception of farmers (“Great Depression”). After World War I, there was less of a demand for crops, but other than that, most people were rich (“Great Depression”). People were so confident, they thought this would never end. They were so confident, that Herbert Hoover, who would then become the next president, proclaimed “in 1928 that the United States was close to ‘the final triumph over poverty’ ” (“Great Depression”). We were getting closer to a country of money and happiness by the minute. Truly, this was a time of prosperity.

When the citizens had bought all that they could buy, there was a decrease in demand. Suddenly, the industries had an excess of goods and no one to sell it to. At this point, the Fordney-McCumber Act began to cripple the economy of America. Other nations introduced high tariffs to boost their revenue and to spite the United States. Sadly for the United States, these high tariffs and low demand were instrumental in the depression that America experienced. When the stock market crashed on October 29th, 1929 or “Black Tuesday”, the united states, along with other nations were in economic turmoil and the widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly. The depression threatened people's jobs, savings, and even their homes and farms. During the heart of the depression, over one-quarter of the American population was out of work. For many Americans, these were extremely hard times. When Roosevelt was voted into office, he introduced the New Deal. While this plan tried to help the united states out of it’s isolationist rut, the second world war was the final solution. Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defence jobs.

The 1920s seemed to promise a future of a new and wonderful way of life for America and its citizens . Modern science, evolving cultural norms, industrialization, and even jazz music heralded exciting opportunities and a future that only pointed up toward a better life. However, cracks in the facade started to show, and beginning with the stock market crash of 1929 the wealth of the country, and with it the hopes and expectations of its people, began to slip away. The Great Depression left a quarter of the population unemployed and much of the rest destitute and uncertain of what the future held. Wealth vanished, people took their money out of banks, and plans were put on hold. The most significant way in which the Great Depression affected Americans’ everyday lives was through poverty because it tore relationships apart and damaged the spirit of society while unexpectedly bringing families together in unity.

     With the continually worsening conditions, and the stock market crash on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the United States was thrown into the biggest economical disaster of our history. Everyone, excluding the rich upper class, became poor and most unemployed. The majority of the American populace found themselves living in ‘shantytowns’ or ‘Hoovervilles’ as they later became to be known, which consisted of many cramped shacks constructed from whatever was available. This meant old burnt-out cars, cardboard boxes, random pieces of lumber, and anything else that people could find. Times truly were tough. It was a daily