The two worst crises in history
EQ: What are the parallels between the Great Depression and Great Recession? How can we prevent this economic catastrophes to happen again?
Mr. Smith after looking for the last time at what was left of his investing, stood up from the black chair in his office and started walking toward the windows, He couldn’t live with this, a man who had always won during his entire life, a man who had always been successful, a man who came from nothing and made a huge fortune thanks to hard work, had lost everything. His feet were getting heavier and heavier as he was getting closer to the windows, tears started going down his cheeks, is that what he really wanted? Death? He reached the windows, looked down and saw all those small cars all those people that looked like small spots from that height and he jumped. It was another of those numerous men in suit and tie squashed on the ground by the Great Depression. This is one of the numerous stories of suicide that could be told during the period of the Great Depression. (A&E Television Network)
The Great Depression was the most severe and most lasting economic crisis the west industrialized history has ever registered. Many think that the Great Depression is black tuesday however the stock market crash occurred on tuesday October 29 1929, but Black Tuesday was instead one of the major causes of the Depression. As described by the economist Stewart
The depression affected Jim Braddock and his family in many ways. One way was he could not get work do to his hand been broken from boxing. Jim was not able to afford the essentials to survive (i.e. food, electricity and medical). This was a
Never had the flaws of capitalism been so evident or as devastating as during the decade that followed the outbreak of the Great Depression in 1929. All across the Euro-American heartland of capitalist world, this vaunted economy system seemed to unravel. For the rich it meant contracting stock prices that wiped out paper fortunes almost overnight. On that day that the American stock market initially crashed (October 24, 1929), eleven Wall Street finances committed suicide, some by jumping out of skyscrapers. Banks closed and many more people lost their life savings. Investment dried up, world trade dropped by 62 percent within a few years and businesses contracted when they were unable to sell their products. For ordinary
Max: Hi I’m Max Lessins. This is Crash Course for economics and today we’ll be discussing the Great Recession, focusing on the fiscal and monetary policies used to recover from the 2008 economic meltdown.
Great Depression. The deepest longest-lasting economic downturn of the history of the western industrialized world. Began soon after the stock market crash of October 1929 (Black Tuesday) which sent wall street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Roosevelt was sent in to office replacing Herbert Hoover, a possible cause of the Great Depression, for twelve years or three terms.Though the time was devastating the positive outcomes like the automobile improvement and other improvements still last to this day. Although discrimination was a problem employment was increased so the New Deal was helpful for the problems of the great depression.
Americans living our time period today, 2010 have a lot of the same similarities as the Americans living in the period of 1934. One of the main similarities is the amount of spending. During 1934 Americans loved to buy things just like Americans due during this time today. Americans in 2010 are said to spend almost three times more then the people that lived five years ago, similar to the people who were a major cause of the Great Depression. Recently last March America faced another Stock Market crash; this one was not at all as severe as the one at the time of the Great Depression. This crash did in fact really hurt families all over our nation though similar to the Great Depression. Families are getting wrenched out of their homes because they cannot pay the bills. Businesses are having to fire an immense portion of there staff because the business cannot afford to pay that may employees. Just like the time of the Great
The Great Depression was a severe economic slump down that took place between 1929 and 1939 (Sauert, 2010). Observers reckon that this historical event was the longest, demeaning, and most widespread recession. The resultant widespread economic hardship hit Europe, North America, and other industrialized economies (Olson, 2001). Also, in the 21st century, the international community has experienced yet another crisis, the Global Financial Crisis, which the observers of the global economic fora have similarly compared and contrasted with the Great Depression. The Global Financial Crisis offered itself as a case scenario that epitomes how deep the economy of the world can decline to abysmal levels.
The Stock Market Crash occurred on October 29th, 1929. Wall Street got struck on Black Tuesday when, on the New York Stock Exchange, investors traded 16 million dollars worth of shares in one single day. Billions of dollars were cut, destroying the investments of thousands of investors. After the event of Black Tuesday, America’s industrial world spiraled downwards into the Great Depression. This was the most powerful and extended economic breakdown in the history of the Western Industrial world up till then.
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.
On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the stock market saw its greatest crash in history. The next 10 years brought an economic depression the world had never experienced. Unemployment would soar, a banking crisis would lead to a global phenomenon, and Americans would find themselves struggling to survive. In addition, the government would step up their involvement in American lives, as they felt a responsibility to the people. This would lead to mixed feelings from the American people. The Great Depression affected people in many different ways. For some it led to their demise, while it brought others closer together than ever before.
The Great Depression was a harsh global economic depression in the decade prior World War II. The Great Depression, while it happened far before the “Great Recession” of 2008, it can be greatly compared. During the Great Depression, all income, tax revenue, and prices dropped. International trade decreased by more than 50%, and U.S. unemployment climbed to just above 25%. Industrial cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh took the heaviest hits. While the recession of 2008 was not as drastic, it affected the world economy and resulted in a global recession more so than ever before. The percent of U.S. citizens unemployed had reached 10% as of 2009. Along with the challenges unemployment presented, consumer
George Santayana, a Spanish poet and philosopher said, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." This quote applies to the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008. There are many similarities between the two, like the causes, the actual events, and the aftermaths. Several factors led to the Great Depression, which were the following: overproduction by business and agriculture, unequal distribution of wealth, Americans buying less, and finally, the stock market crash of 1929. The Great Recession also had similar factors leading to it, like the housing “bubble” burst and less consumer spending. In both events, the Presidents enacted programs that they believed would help the American people.
The Great Recession and the Great Depression are the fallout of the exact same economic phenomenon and are only different in a few (minor) respects. Each period is marked by a massive run up in asset prices followed by a tremendous deflationary pressure that has sent both debt and equity markets into turmoil (down). Although the Great Depression affected more than just the United State, the 2007 recession is very similar to the Great Depression because of the way that unemployment rates were the highest that was seen each time, the economic market got extremely bad, and consumer spending went down drastically. The 2007 Recession and the Great Depression both had unemployment rates that went through the roof.
The stock market crash that took place in 1929 and is one of the many causes of the Great Depression. The Stock Market crash began on October 24, 1929, and is also known as The “Black Thursday”. On October 29, 1929, or “Black Tuesday” sixteen million shares ended because another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Stock owners lost more than Forty billion dollars because of this
The Great Depression and Great Recession were two unique events that had monumental impact on the economy. Both had similarities, and differences that made them unique. The Great Depression was caused by people living on credit, and when it was time to pay they didn’t have the money, this happened on a wide spread scale. The crashing of the stock market was what officially started the Great Depression in 1929. The great recession was caused by subprime mortgages as well, as risk taking by financial institutions. Much like the depression people were living over their heads, and when it was time to pay their bills they were unable to. Both the Great Depression and Great Recession were brought on by bubbles, for the Great Depression it was the stock market bubble, for the Great Recession it was the housing bubble.
In America there have been great economic struggles and triumphs. The many great leaders of this country have foraged, failed, and overcome some very difficult times. Comparing the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 has revealed similarities that by learning from our mistakes in 1929 could have prevented the latest recession. I will discuss the causes of the Great Depression and the Great Recession, and what policies were implemented to reverse the economic downfalls.