The Great Depression : A Time Of Dramatic Change

The supply of food had to be able to feed more people and ensure stability. The traditional method would often see poor harvest or shortages of land, the new methods the Agricultural Revolution provided ensured the stability that was needed in Europe. Dikes and drain land was developed so farmers and landlords could farm larger areas. They also experimented with new crops that would restore the soil and supply more animal food. The iron plow was another great agricultural innovation because it allowed land to be cultivated longer without having to be left unplanted. Crop rotation and a new method of animal breeding also contributed to the success of the Agricultural Revolution. However, these new methods caused peasant revolts because it challenged the traditional peasant ways of production. The increased production of food with the new and efficient production methods allowed death rates to fall and children to grow because people were more nouritoused. The increase in food production allowed Europeans to grow without the fear of

The journal article begins by introducing an African American couple who resided in Russellville, Kentucky. James Wright held an occupation as a corn cutter while his wife Gladys worked as a cook in a white home. The time span of their journey occurred at the beginning of the great depression all the way through World War II. Seeking better employment opportunities, James traveled to Louisville. Although, his first couple trips were in vain. His resilience and determination eventually lead to a job working for International Harvester. During an era of many trials and tribulations, James found a way to support himself and his family by migrating from a rural to an urban area. By sharing this anecdote the author establishes a mood of hardship

In the period 1865-1900, technology, government policy, and economic conditions all changed American agriculture a great deal. New farming machinery had a large role in the late 19th century, giving farmers the opportunity to produce a lot more crops than they used to. The railroads had an enormous influence on agriculture. They were able to charge the farmers large fees, expenses that farmers barely had enough to cover, in order to transport their goods throughout the expansive country. The booming industry also changed American agriculture, creating monopolies and gaining incredible wealth with which the farmers simply could not compete. Economically, the monetary policy along with the steadily

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 new technology used in American agriculture made it overall more productive and widespread while creating mixed results for the farmers. The advancement in machines like reapers, threshers, and mowers to harvest grains produced contrasting outcomes. An obvious benefit was some of the ease brought to the farmers. The human labor involved in harvesting grain by hand with a scythe or by a simple, one horse-powered machine was far greater than harvesting with a big, multi-horse powered machine. The devices made work simpler, faster, and more efficient for the farmers by relying on animal energy and technology (Document D). With promises of larger crops with less exertion, the new machines became very desirable to farmers in order to stay in competition with their peers; however, buying these machines also pushed many of them into unfortunate financial situations. Not only was the actual

Throughout the 19th century, the American market saw drastic changes in infrastructure and production. The agriculture sector was no different, as new technologies and modes of transport led the way for farmers to sell goods and work their land, easier and faster. New laws and regulations also paved the way towards cheaper food throughout America. However, as prices dropped, and production flourished, a minority of Americans suffered the consequences of starvation, while farmers suffered low gains. The agricultural picture of the 1800s paints an image of new technologies and a transformed transport sector, which gave way to lower consumer prices and hardships for farmers.

New mechanized farming techniques led farmers to be able to increase their profits (Document C). With the help of the new technology for farming, farmers produced more crops than ever. However, the overproduction of wheat and the Great Depression is what unfortunately led to the reduced market prices. As a result, the wheat market was swamped, and people were too poor to buy. Furthermore, due to the great loss, farmers were unable to earn back what they produced, so instead they expanded their fields in an effort to turn their unfortunate circumstance into a profit. However, the prairies they covered with wheat caused the grass to slowly disappear and the fields were left bare (Document

During the Industrial era, the government practiced a laissez-faire policy towards businesses, free land grants to railroads and a high tariff as well were established. All of these did not help the farmers at all because of their need to support themselves and their families. Life was hard in the west for the average farmer, most of which were barely making any money. Mary E. Lease states, “We went to work and plowed and planted; the rains fell, the sun shone, nature smiled, and we raised the big crop they told us to; and what came of it?” (Doc. 3). Lease continues by listing many different crops farmers grew but with very little money in return. For a group of people to put so much effort into one harvest but make virtually nothing from it is very disturbing. That is when many people realized their situation and after a year or so, gave up and went to work in a factory. Nowadays, almost everyone would agree with how dire the economic status was and that a change was needed. Moreover, farmers who used the railroads were affected economically. The distance between an eastern market and a mid-western farm is about one thousand miles or more. Before the introduction of the railroads, it was very expensive and very difficult to ship food at those great lengths. However, all that changed during the Industrial era. Farmers now had to only move their product to the closest train to bring it eastward, but that

Bankers- High interest rates caused the farmers to pay even more when they didn't have the money to pay.

During the 1920’s business was booming, many Americans were using credit cards to buy materials that they knew they could not pay back, businesses were producing products in an efficient manner, the cycle of debt was inevitable and electricity was being used in every American home. However, years later disaster strikes, on October 29 1929 Americas once healthy economy with a 4% unemployment rate suddenly spiraled out of control due to the stock market crash where billions of dollars were lost since many Americans wanted wealth and would go to any measure to achieve it which lead to careless investments and many investors raced to take their money out of the stock market as soon as it crashed. This unstable economy did

Cecchetti, Stephen G. "Understanding the Great Depression: Lessons for Current Policy ." Monetary Economics (1997): 1-26.

To debate on how the United States changed during the great depression and the postwar era is a obvious discussion.First to start off with some simple topics is, how the the economy changed is the roles changed.And the men were mostly in war moreover some older teenagers.It also changed the roles from women from being home moms to factory workers furthermore African Americans from north to south.The warfare diversely differed from the great depression because of the atom bombs and nuclear bombs.

Uneven distribution of wealth serves as another cause of the Great Depression. America was wealthy in the 1920s, but this wealth did not extend to all segment of the society. The gains made by wealthy Americans in the 1920s far outstripped gained made by the working class. By the time of the stock market crash, the upper one percent of the population controlled over sixty percent of the nation’s savings. On the other hand, over three quarters of American families made less than $3000 a year. Problems that could develop from this situation were obvious. The bottom-line three-quarters of families were too poor to purchase much to help the economics to flourish. Underconsumption, in the long run, was a vicious circle to the economy. People had no money to spend. The income of many firms dwindled. More people were laid off or cut hours and thus further cut their spending. The economics became stagnant.

The first and most obvious known factor in the development of The Great Depression is the stock market crash of 1929. The Money Alert website

Children who were raised in the US have grown up hearing stories of the Great Depression. We learned simple basics in class such as the stock market crashed, lots of people lost jobs, and it was a very rough patch in American history. It is not until we are older that the gaps of how the stock market crashed, why people lost jobs, and what was so rough about this time become filled. The documentary on the Great Depression we watched in Global History served as a great way to fill in those gaps providing much more details explanations of what happened.