The Great Depression Cause And Effect Essay

The Great Depression left the American banking system in shambles and left the American people broken and scared for their futures. There were several causes that led up to the enactment of the New Deal and the Social Security Act. A major cause was "Black Tuesday." This was the largest stock market crash in U.S. history that took place on October 29, 1929. The crash happened because wealthy Americans used their revenue to speculate in real estate and the stock market rather than invest in new businesses. Another cause was U.S. banks issuing loans and credits to foreign governments in the amount of billions of dollars. Prior to the Great Depression and the enactment of the FERA, relief was based on the poor laws.

On a day known as Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, will always be a day the people of the United States will always remember. The stock markets were increasing for a decade, when it had plunged on Black Tuesday. Some people had lost everything, from the houses they owned or their jobs to banks crashing, this became a depressing time, known as the Great Depression. At this time Herbert Hoover was in control, and he thought that eventually everything would be back to normal. When the crash of banks started in December of 1930, Hoover had hoped that this had been the beginning of the Depression. Hoover knew that there needed to be a change, so he drafted and submitted a bill to Congress, known as the Revenue Act of 1932. The purpose of the act was to balance the federal budget and to maintain national credit. The act had raised the axes on wealth, estate tax, and corporate taxes. The impact of this act had made a large middle class, it raised the top income rate from 25% to 63%, and it made the Depression worse. However, the Revenue Act of 1932 had

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 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

The Great Depression 1929-1942 was the economic downturn. On October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed wiping out millions out of work. The economic slowed down and then it shrinked in size. It then progressed to a recession and then to a panic. This progressed over the years and a series of bad decisions to slow down the economy into depression. Which then led to WWII.

After the crash, many business failed, banks closed, and because of that, lots of workers were out of job. Homes and farms had been lost to foreclosure. In 1933, the government finally decided to do something, congress passed the Securities Act of 1933, which required companies that sold stocks and other securities to communicate important information to consumers and set up systems to prevent fraud. The law was strengthened in 1934 when congress created the Securities and Exchange commission (“Black Tuesday”). Herbert Hoover, the president of US during this event, thought the stock market would get better within 60 days (Stock). The crash also helped lead to the onset of the Great Depression by undermining confidence in the economy, but it

Many believed that Black tuesday began the Great Depression, on October 29, 1929 a group on panicked sellers traded nearly 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall. Others believe it was the stock market crash in 1929, or that Black tuesday was just the begining triggering the stock market to crash causing the Great Depression. As soon as president Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office he began searching for ways to better American life as quickly as possible. He proposed a series of programs through The New Deal, these programs created jobs for many unemployed men, while others offered aid, created the FDA so people know whats in the products they're purchasing, and banking acts to

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.

Many people lost as much as ten times their initial investment, which shook consumer confidence. In an effort to cover their margins, people rushed the banks in masses, demanding their money. Soon, banks began to run out of cash and went bust.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution early in the nineteenth century the United States ad experienced recessions or panics at least every twenty years. But none was as severe or lasted as long as the Great Depression. Only as the economy shifted toward a war mobilization in the late 1930s did the grip of the depression finally ease.

The Great Depression started on October 29, 1929 when investors traded an amount of 16 million shares in the stock

People were dying because of how farming methods and a drought destroyed crops, and people all over the United States had no food or shelter. Panicked sellers were trading shares on the New York Stock Exchange that had been overvalued, and finally the banks that kept every one 's money lost it all.

The banking industry as a whole after the stock market crashed was going bankrupt due to not being able to carry the “bad debt” that was created from using customer money to buy stock. Because the banks were out of money, they were unable to cover customer withdrawals from their bank, causing many bank customers to lose all of their savings. With the uncertainty of the future of the banking industry, many people withdrew all of their savings, which caused more than 9,000 banks to close their doors and go out of business (Kelly). Due to the effects of the Great Depression, and the collapse of the banking industry, the government created regulations to prevent similar failure in the future. For Example, the SEC, (or Securities Exchange Commission), which regulates the sell and trade of stocks, bonds and other investments was created as a result of The Great Depression. The FDIC (or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), was created to insure bank accounts so that that the consumer would be protected if the bank were to go out of business (Kelly). The Great Depression's effect on the banking industry led to many useful changes to the banking industry and helped restore confidence in banks in the American people.

Another factor that lead to the Great Depression was shortsighted government economical policies. This meant that the government took no actions against unwise trading and investing. Congress also passes high tariffs that protected American industries but hurt farmers and international trade (http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projests/depression/causes.html). Looking back many people believe that these tariff increase were a horrible mistake that made the Worldwide Depression worse (McElvaine 32).

Prior to the crash, the roaring twenties built up the stock market. It was a time of wealth, success, and triumph. It all began with an enormous drop in the market. Panic flooded throughout the entire United States causing millions of people to pull out, in attempt to keep the little money they had left. (Colombo)