The Great Depression was a period of severe economic recession that flogged the American people. It was primarily caused by the overproduction of goods and the massive unequal distribution of wealth. America during the years leading up to the depression had an abundance of production coming off the recent World War, but since wages hadn’t increased, no one was able to buy the products. Also, by 1927, nearly forty percent of all the nations wealth was controlled by the top five percent, and this caused an extremely unstable economy. Similarly, the failure of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff and the closing of banks were both minor causes of the Great Depression. Instead of assisting the farmers, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, signed by Herbert Hoover, actually …show more content…
Rather than helping the farmers which it was designed to do, it turned out to be the one of the nation 's highest protective tariff(TEXT PAGE 740) This served as a low blow to all international countries America was involved with. Not only did the tariff economically isolate America from the world, but it also created a financial chaos among America 's trading partners. It literally sent America and other nations into a deeper depression(DOCUMENT D). In addition to this, during the nineteen twenties, stock prices were rapidly increasing and because of this, “buying on margin” became very popular. This “buy now, pay later” form of credit worked well with a rising market, but not with a declining one(DOCUMENT B). During this period, the actual market was severely inflated, and not many understood this. They simply kept investing more and more money, and the market finally popped in October of 1929(DOCUMENT C). Those that did have money in the banks, suffered from an unfortunate circumstance. With the collapse of the stock market, everyone ran to banks to withdraw their savings. Quickly, however, this run on banks ended as banks ran out of money. Also, because so many Americans had uninsured deposits, they lost everything. They were the victims of bank failure. They had placed their life savings into banks and they were robbed(DOCUMENT …show more content…
The most immediate effect of the Great Depression was an increase in unemployment. With the market crash and the closing of banks, jobs became very difficult to maintain. By 1929, approximately nine percent of the labor force was unemployed. In just four years, unemployed rose to nearly twenty-five percent(DOCUMENT F). Men, who worked full-time were for the most part fired. Women on the other hand, who were only allowed to work part-time, kept their jobs. This circumstance where women were providing for families created feelings of shame and useless for men, as it upset gender roles. Not only did unemployment leave a physical impact in regard to a lack of money and a lack of food, but it also left a massive psychological impact in relation to men and their joblessness(Lecture). Similarly, the Great Depression led towards a cultural shift among Americans. People had worked so hard and put their life savings in the bank, and all within a day, it was gone. People went from a life of stability, to one of severe uncertainty and this can clearly be seen through the values of Americans during this period. Many became paranoid of the government and resorted to hoarding money in their house and in their pastures. Some even canned and preserved food for decades in advance. Those who lived during this period in America adopted a lifestyle of frugality and signs of these can undoubtedly be seen in grandparents and great grandparents. On a more political standpoint, Herbert Hoover’s
Even the people who didn’t owe money to the brokers ran to the bank because they saw how the stock market was crashing down drastically. When everyone started running to the bank for their money, the bank was left with nothing left. This caused people to lose everything they had, all their money! Also in this time period banks weren’t responsible for people’s money because they were not regulated by the government. This caused people to lose everything they had worked for and furthering the
During this time period, the stock market would not have been affordable for the average person and would be considered a luxury. Normal Americans would have to buy stocks on loan if they wanted to invest. Buying stocks on loan is a form of credit, as you would be taking money out of the banks with the understanding that you would need to pay it back later. The uneven distribution of wealth was another major
In 1929, the U.S. was hit with the worst economic crisis in the history of the country, the Great Depression. The Great Depression left millions of people unemployed and cost millions their life's savings. The Depression lasted for ten long years for the American people. Since the Great Depression ended, people have studied it, trying to figure out what happened that started it all. The problem was, in fact, the poor economic habits of the people at the time, such as speculation, income maldistribution, and overproduction.
The Great Depression was a devastating period in United States History, the economy collapsed, and a staggering 25% of the population was unemployed. During this time, there were large wage disparity gaps that were very prevalent, there was no middle class, you were either wealthy or you were poor. It was hard for family life to continue, parents had to take up two and three jobs to make sure their kids were staying safe, and well. Most of these jobs were odd-jobs, and were temporary with no sense of security. It was a struggle to find work, and no job was too demeaning for you to do, because you may not find work again.
It raised the United States tariffs to unreasonably high levels. Although the tariff made life hard, it did not cause the Great Depression. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff became a symbol of the “beggar-thy-neighbor" policies, which were policies designed to improve a person’s own lot at the expense of others. These policies contributed to the decline of international trade. The original intent of the Act was to preserve mainly the agricultural jobs in America and protect the people from foreign agricultural imports.
In this essay, I am going to look at what ways the Great Depression affected the American people with examples from John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Available jobs and high wages had been
The Great Depression The Great Depression was by far one of the worst times of America’s history, and the world’s history. The Depression affected everyone except for the politicians and the wealthy. During the depression a lot of people lost their jobs which caused the unemployment rate to sky rocket to 14% of America’s population was unemployed, and the number would stay their till World War 2, and the depression started in the 1920’s. Middle class workers were hit the hardest in the depression. Most of the middle class citizens lost their jobs.
During the Great Depression the unemployment rate went up, they were forced to eat at soup kitchens or go through garbage cans for food, and they even had to build shelter out of cardboard. The first underlying cause of the Great Depression was underconsumption and overproduction. Many things contributed to the underconsumption of goods. The production line kept producing goods even when people could not afford to buy them.
The Great Depression was a huge tragedy that took millions of people in the U.S. out of work. It was the biggest economic fall in America's history. The story “Digging In” by Robert J. Hastings, the video “Growing up in the Great Depression”, and the poem “Debts” by Karen Hesse showed the problems people encountered during the Great Depression. It affected people negatively by making the prices raise and people made less money so it was hard for them to pay their rent or bills. Also, many people were unemployed and did not have enough money to get food.
The Great Depression of 1929 was one of America’s most influential downfalls that crippled society for years. The depression caused many years of failure and poverty for almost all of society. The government’s role during these times was crucial and critical for turning around the economy. The depression had a major effect on government’s power and involvement with the people and states. The government was less involved before the depression.
The Great DepressionTopic: the great depressionQuestion: How did the great depression affect americans?Thesis statement:The great depression affected americans because it destroyed their economy. Millions of families lost theirs savings as many banks collapsed in the 1930’s. The Great Depression was the worst economic drop of all times in the industrial world1. The Great Depression began because of a stock market crash in 1929 and came to end ten years later in 1939, around 15 million americans were unemployed and about half of the American banks failed. It was one of the darkest era in the United States.
Many investors ignored risks and wanted quick profit while they got greedier without realizing what could happen. However, when the downturn in the market came, people weren 't ready and they panicked. For
The Great Depression was an austere economic depression that began in the late 1920’s and spanned until the late 1930’s. It was the longest and most widespread economic downturn in the history of America. It was characterized by the devastating effects it had on the United States. Personal incomes, tax revenues, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plummeted by more than 50% and unemployment rose to 25%. People all over the country were all impacted by this prolonged recession.
And to cover up the expense the banks have to get the money from the interests they get on loans. The banks also gave loans to the stock market brokers and as the stock markets failed the bank couldn’t get the moneys back as a result they failed. And this bank failure along the stock market crash caused a great harm to the Us economy. During the mid 1920s the stock market went through
This damaged the economy and hurt millions. As a result, overproduction and underconsumption left a lot of business in debt and caused the Great