The Causes of Canada's Great Depression of 1929-1939 Essay

The Great Depression was a terrible point in Canadian history, and for most of the world. It was a point in time where thousands of people lost their jobs, and even lost their homes because of the depressed economy. Business was booming in the early 1920s, but when companies tried to expand, and therefore issued stocks, the economy was thrown off. Some investors sold their stocks for high prices, and as a result, everyone else followed. With less of a demand, stock prices became fractions of what they used to be, and on October 29, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, followed by the Toronto and Montreal Stock exchanges. This collapse of the stock markets caused a depression like which the world had never seen before. It was

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.

The Great Depression was one of the worst collapses in the history of the Canadian economy. Canadians endured years of misery and in the same manner, suffered through all the ineffective solutions that took place. Despite Prime Minister Bennett's multiple advances to bring the economy back to pace, most of the solutions Bennett acted upon caused more harm than good to the economy. Bennett's first solution was enrolling in Protective Tariffs, which not only sent more residents out of work but also reduced Canada’s trade with other countries. Secondly, Bennett's involvement in putting up relief camps bought hatred, from unemployed men, towards Bennett and his government. Thirdly, Bennett's final attempt was the New Deal, which ultimately led

Canada during the 1920s was definitely, as the saying goes, roaring. Following the end of WW1, quality of life had drastically improved. The Canadian economy had ameliorated,

One of such events that affected Canada economically is the Drought in the Dust Bowl. The Prairies became the worst place to live in Canada because the price of wheat has dropped from $1.60 per bushel to $.38 per bushel and because of that many farmers abandoned their farms to look for other jobs. Drought returned in 1933 and was five years long with limited amount rainfall which also caused the topsoil to turn into dust and caused dust storms due to too powerful winds. Because of the right conditions thousands and thousands of grasshoppers were born and damaged 80% of crops that remained. It was bad for Canada because it just lost the people who produced on of its primary products wheat and now the Canada has no choice but to buy wheat from other countries and those can price it for whatever they want because Canada is in need. Secondly, the Stock Market Crashed on October 29, 1929 “Black Tuesday.” Many people invested large amounts of money into the stock market because as the value of the stock increased the more money they made when they sold it and to many it became like an easy way to make money. For example, Canadian Marconi, a radio company should have sold at $1 but sold for $28 because the market value inflated. Canada was affected by this because when the Stock Market crashed people who invested hugely into stocks lost large amounts of because they sold them for a fraction of the what they purchased it. People took

The political scene was dominated by a Liberal party that would not "commit a five cent piece towards the cost of unemployment relief" . This eventually led to their defeat in the summer of 1930. The winner of the election was the Conservative party. Their goal was to get Canada back up and running. In an effort to do so, they raised tariffs on imports and tried to protect national interests. This actually had the opposite affect on the economy and pushed the country further into economic hardship. The government around this time was also trying to balance the budget. In order to balance the budget, they increased taxes which also had a detrimental affect on the economy. After five years, the Conservatives were defeated due to unorganized leadership. The Liberals won the election in 1935. Although

The Great Depression was not just a little event in history, hence the word “great”, but a major economical setback that would change Canada, and the world, forever. The word “great” may not mean the same thing it does now; an example of this is the ‘Great’ War. These events were not ‘good’ or ‘accomplishing’ in any way, quite the opposite, but in those times it most likely meant ‘big’. What made it big are many factors, both in the 20’s and 30’s, which can be categorized into three main points: economics, politics and society. With all these events, compressed into ten years, this period of economic hardship of the 1930’s truly deserves the title the “Great Depression”.

The 1920’s were a swinging party of an era. People learned what having a good time and living the American dream truly meant when they began partying all night, seeing movies, placing imaginary money into a new system called “credit”, and ignoring the impending doom that sat on the horizon. On October 29, 1929, tragedy struck America; the newly founded stock market crashed, and suddenly people were trying to sell off their bad stocks to people with no money, who were being hounded by banks trying to reclaim the imaginary money that turned out to be not so imaginary after all. This date marked the start of the era known as the Great Depression. The Depression would control the 30’s, leaving some on the lower levels of society struggling to survive,

The Great Depression was a time of great economic tragedy during the 1930’s. October 24, 1929 was the day of the stock market crash, causing economical shortage everywhere, even globally, and this scared everyone, including the rich. This day was/ is known as “Black Thursday”, where over 2.9 million shares were traded. On “Black Tuesday”, five days later, more than 16 million more shares were traded in another wave of panic. Many investors then lost confidence in their banks and demanded deposits in cash which forced the banks to liquidate loans in order to supplement their on hand cash reserves. By 1933, around 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. This stopped Americans from purchasing which then led to less production of goods and decreased the amount of needed human labor. In the end, millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks with borrowed money were wiped out completely.

The Great Depression was a time of great economic problems for all of Canada. By staying out of the situation with unemployment the federal government contributed to fiscal collapse in the four western provinces and hundreds of municipalities. From 1932 onward, Western provinces obtain status of being on the the brink of bankruptcy. Saskatchewan prices became the lowest ever in recorded history. Oil prices elevating made it hard to pay for gas that cars required. Cars regressed back into horses due to the affordability.

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.

The Great Depression was a time of major distress for economies all over the world. The duration of this tragic time in history was from 1929-1939. It is known as the worst and longest depression in America’s economic history. It brought poverty and devastation to so many hardworking individuals. It lasted for about ten years as America and places all over the world tried to boost economic growth in civilization and wealth. Much of businesses, farming, and means of income began to fall short. America had dug a big ditch she could not get herself out of. Who would help restore America and put herself back to where she once was? America was at

In 1929 the longest depression in American history occurred. The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1939. This tragic event happened due to the Stock Market Crash and also overproduction. The economic activity declined and the industrial production fell 50%. During this time there was much unemployment and many banks failed which affected many people's lives severely. Nearly 1.5 million people were without jobs during this time period and at the Depressions peak the number was even higher at an estimate of 12.6 million unemployed in the country. This changed people’s perspectives on humanity and the world because they now realized how much they valued the world they lived in before when they took for granted having a job. People now viewed the world as a dark and depressing place

The Stock Market Crash marked the beginning of what we now call the Great Depression. One of the hardest, saddest and roughest times for not just Canada but the whole world. On Thursday, October, 24th, 1929, the stock market began to crash. Investors started to sell millions of their shares, to try and save what money they had. Then on Tuesday, October 29th, 1929 the markets crashed again and billions of dollars were lost this day was marked as Black Tuesday, the depression was 100% underway. After World War One, loans became a very popular thing in Canada, people wanted the new cool technology, that was usually too expensive for the