The Great Depression built itself out of a time when farm systems failed, people in factories were losing money and jobs, the stock market crashed, and no one had much confidence that anything good was going to happen ever again. Some thought it was going to be over quickly. Shortly after the big crash in October 1929, Andrew W. Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury said, " The government 's business is in sound condition". The truth was that no one 's business was in good condition and would not get better for quite a long time. People living on farms had no healthy crops because of a long and horrible drought that turned fields of soil into sand and rocks and so much dust that the Midwest was named "The Dust Bowl". This left the …show more content…
The biggest event that got the Great Depression going was the "crash" that started on October 24, 1929. It was called Black Thursday. A few days later on October 29, 1929, things got even worse. Stocks fell to the point of losing all value and banks started calling in loans that no one could pay back. This date became known as "Black Tuesday". The losses were over 30 billion dollars by the next month. 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 next several years were terrifying according historical records. The middle class was disappearing and life was cut into two groups; the "haves" and the "have-nots". The group that made the biggest part of the "have-nots" were the people who lived in rural areas. Parents who lost their jobs had to let their children be forced to leave from going to school. They had to work in factories and other places for low wages to help save their families. People who lived in the cities did not have it any better. Families were getting evicted all the time. In places like Philadelphia, nursery school children played a game called the eviction game. They would pile their toy furniture into a corner. Then they would pick it up and move
During The Great Depression, the New Deal Instituted many programs where some had many accomplishments some many failures and some had both accomplishments and failures. The programs that had the greatest impact of the Great Depression were the creation of the securities and exchange commission, The works Progress Administration, the Fireside Chats, and the Wagner Act. The programs that had some accomplishments and failures were the civilian conservation corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the institution of the Social Security. Lastly, the program that had nothing but failures was the Court Packing Plan.
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 source of the Great Depression came from the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, better known as Black Tuesday. Before the crash,
The Great Depression was the worst period of economic decline in U.S. history. It began on October 29th, 1929, and was officially declared over, in the year 1939, once the second World War was commenced. There were many factors that both influenced, and made the Great Depression even worse. A few examples of this are: During this time period, many Americans had money invested in the stock market, and once they saw that somebody else began to sell their stocks, they sold their own. On October 29th, people began to sell their stocks at an extremely rapid rate. Due to the rapid rate of stocks being sold, people lost countless amounts of money, and eventually ran to the bank to take out whatever they had in there. However, these banks were
It was during the fast paced, get-rich-quick “Roaring Twenties”- the sky seemed the limit to most Americans. The success of the twenties is the reason so many Americans found it hard to understand how such an economic disaster could strike their mighty country. During the 1930’s the economies devastation caused 13-15 million people to become unemployed. Banks closed due to the fact people were demanding cash deposits which forced banks to liquidate in order to supplement their insufficient cash reserves on hand. The bread lines grew, people lost their homes and went into debt trying to survive. Rudy Vallee spoke of how
People died from all the dust they inhaled. Then in 1934-1937 droughts hit throughout. This event impacted Americans majorly. Also, put on more stress to handle with their financial issues.
The stock market crashed which led to less money, less production of cars, and less purchases of alcohol. It affected the world we live in greatly. The stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. It was commonly known as “Black Tuesday”. Obtaining enough food for a family was becoming difficult. Many individuals were out of work and unable to find a job that was willing to pay enough to help put food on the table. Vehicles were no longer selling due to the lack of financial funds. Music had nearly come to a halt and the parties of the roaring twenties became quiet. Even the middle class struggled to keep their homes. The middle class eventually started to allow people to board at their homes for a fee. The fee helped to pay for the home and the food the individuals needed. Eventually, the Great Depression came to an end. The Great Depression ended in 1939, nearly ten years after it had begun. Families were able to get back on their feet and begin to live a better
The economy was lost; no one was working because they were either hiding in their houses or dead. It impacted whole families, friends, and neighbors, the rich and the poor, and government, and schools. Businesses and farms were vacant; nothing was being made, grown, or sold. The wealthy formed small communities, living separate from everybody else. They shut themselves up in houses where there were no sick. They ate the finest foods and drank the best wines. They would avoid all excess, allowing no news or discussion of death.
The Great Depression started in the late 1920’s. It was a time of economic relapse. This Great Depression turned out to be the greatest and longest in history lasting approximately ten years. The Great Depression suddenly occurred immediately after the Wall Street Crash. Many say that the Wall Street Crash caused the Great Depression, but failed to realize that the American business was entirely too large to be taken down simply by stock market failure.
On account of the Wallstreet stock market crash which took place in 1929, the nation was put in a huge financial stress. Many people rushed to banks to take out their savings but once they got there, there was no money left. About eight-hundred banks closed and nine million bank accounts crashed (ABC News). Every cent that a family ever
In 1929, the stock market crashed. Many people began to sell all their stocks because they were afraid the stock value was going to decrease. When people bought stocks in the 20s, they bought on margin. This means that they paid for part of the price stock. They borrowed money from stockbrokers to pay for the other part of the stock. This part was called the margin. Many people lost money, and the Great Depression had started. The dust storms in the Midwest destroyed large quantities of crops and left many families desolated. Some farmers lost so much money they could not pay the mortgage on their farm and were forced to rent their land or move. By 1933, the average American had $1/day to live on. Railroads went bankrupt. Most apartment building
America's "Great Depression" began with the shocking crash of the stock market on "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929 when 15 million shares of stock were quickly sold by panicking investors who had lost faith
A principal cause of the Great Depression is the Black Tuesday or stock market crash of 1929, which was the trade of stocks that caused a decrease of the stock price and the loss of billions of dollars over two days. In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s campaign offered Americans a New Deal that consisted of an intervention to align the economy caused by the Great Depression lead him to be the president of the United States.
It was the most catastrophic economic event in U.S. history. Those who were able to keep their jobs noticed a significant decrease in their hours and wages. The contraction of the economy squeezed debtor, especially farmers and laborers who made installment purchases or mortgages. By 1933, thousands of Americans lost their homes to foreclosures. Factories shut down, banks closed, farms went bankrupt, millions of people found themselves jobless, but homeless and destitute as well. Those who were desperate for food rummaged through trash cans behind restaurants. There were those who took up shelters in in vacant lots or slept on park benches and in alleys. Hobos and tramps snuck on empty railway cars going from town to town searching for jobs. During the winter to keep warm they would cover themselves with newspaper. For those who
Everyone put their savings into the stock market in New York City on Wall Street. Then the stock market crashed and people were financially wiped out. Factories and businesses began firing people and for those who still had jobs got paid barely anything. Over 12,000 Americans were becoming unemployed every single day, this lead up to having 12 million people without jobs. Also, the drought in the middle of the country decreased the amount of farm production. Farmers couldn’t support themselves because they couldn’t grow crops. Kids couldn’t go to school because schools had to shut down due to lack of money. People couldn’t even make enough money to meet their basic needs. Then in 1932, Franklin D Roosevelt won the next election over Herbert Hoover. This was the change the country needed in order to get back on their feet. The economy continued to improve and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) grew at an average rate of 9% per year. The Great Depression was another historical event that put many people in poverty (Great Depression Poverty).