The Great Depression of the 1930’s was enveloped within a rather large scheme of issues that were left to the wayside until it was to late. One indefinite issue can not be highlighted, due to the complexity and despair the occurred during this time period. The date that begun the financial meltdown was noted as “Black Tuesday”, this specific date occurred on October 29, 1929. Perhaps though, this was a day of climaxing events that exacerbated the Great Depression.
The time period that preceded the Great Depression was termed as “The Roaring Twenties. The time period was noted for the overabundance and overdependence on multiple form of production, specifically the beginning of the automotive industry. Within this time period was a pronounced disparity between the economic classes (Romer). When analyzing the masses that lived in poverty during this time period we can see that, “60% of the population was living below poverty levels, while a mere 5% of the wealthiest people in America accounted for 33% of the income, and the richest 1% owned 40% of the nation’s wealth. This uneven distribution of wealth was mirrored in the unequal distribution of riches between industry and agriculture” ("Causes of The Great Depression").
Another prudent point that we need to discuss is the affect that many other nations experienced during this period of time. Many of the economies rely upon each other to function, when one is in turmoil others will follow suit. Europe was still under torment
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 1930s was one of the most challenging times in US history, where the Great Depression caused millions of Americans to suffer through hardships because of the economy. Many people were out of work and unemployed, and the government at the time, believed that the best option was to stay out of its affairs, leaving the struggling people hung out to dry. It was not until Franklin Roosevelt was elected president, that the state of the country began to change. And that was due to the creation of the New Deal; a plan to alleviate the state of the country, providing help through increased government spending and programs, that led to its eventual recovery after the second World War.
Former President Calvin Coolidge said, “In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope- nothing of man” and to some extent it was true. Americans lost all hope in life entering a deep dark tunnel with no light in the end. The Great Depression was not something that appeared out of thin air; it grew over time like a tumor and eventually plagued America with an excessive disease. No decade was more terrifying in the twentieth century than the 1930s. The stock market crashing, due to people buying stocks on load, the debts from WWI farmers and consumers in deep debt, and
The United States experienced both the Great Depression and harsh weather conditions during the 1930’s causing Americans to suffer through extreme hardship and impoverishment. Many of the migrant farmers were bankrupt, destitute, and struggled to survive. Photographer and photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, captured the dangerous conditions migrant workers and their families endured through her photograph, Migrant Mother. The photograph not only displays a woman and children suffering, but also reveals the determination and willpower the woman had to provide for her family.
However, in 1929, the Great Depression, also known as Black Tuesday, took a heavy toll on many Americans. Many lost hopes. “The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1941, and was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.” As a result of this, the government, as well as businesses, were struggling to repair any damages or losses. This experience allowed government and business
The 1920’s was a decade of discovery for America. As mentioned in “who was roaring in the twenties? —Origins of the great depression,” by Robert S. McElvaine America suffered with the great depression due to several factors but it managed to stay prosperous at the end. In “America society and culture in the 1920’s,” by David A. Shannon there was much more to the great depression. It was a time of prosperity an economic change. Women and men were discovering who they were and their value to society in “The Revolution in Morals,” by Gilman M. Ostrander. Even if Racism still existed as mentioned in “ The Tribal Twenties,” by John Higham, the 1920’s still was time of change that affects people today.
This act was created in 1974 there are many events that could have impacted the need for such a policy. One event that impacted the need for the RHYA is the Great Depression. The Great Depression led to about 400,000 young boys being homeless. Another important event is the Vietnam War, though it was coming to an end around the time that the act was passed, it lasted for many years and effected the family structure of American households. The draft caused by the war made a lot of families turn into one income families, which could have made teens need to leave home before they were old enough to support themselves in order to leave more resources for the rest of the family.
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.
Black Tuesday will forever be remembered in the history of the American economy. It marked the beginning of the depression with the weakening of the economy, first in the stock market crashing (Goldfield, The American Journey,716). The same economic policies that increased the economy in the 1920’s led to economic disaster with the government failure to produce laws regulating oligopolies, banks, and the stock market (Goldfield,717). President Herbert Hoover’s response to providing federal aid to the United States was seen in the beginning of the depression, when the depression worsened, and towards the end of his presidency.
What came to be known as the Roaring Twenties was a time of economic prosperity following the First World War. At the crest of Jazz Age, when traditional norms were tested and culture was displayed through music and literature, American consumerism was at its peak. From Ford’s automobiles to the smallest of household appliances, from houses to stock market bonds, the average American used credit to purchase all of these appliances. However, at the height of this consumerism, the wealth gap amidst the affluent and the impoverished refused to contract in size. At this moment, 0.1 percent of the elite acquired the same total income as 42 percent of the Nation’s population. With the average personal debt rising and the overproduction of consumer goods too stubborn to decrease; on October 29, 1929, otherwise known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed. Unlike others before it, this crash impacted a significant amount of the Nation’s population; predominantly due to its prosperity within the last decade as a result of foreign market advantages during the First World War. Black Tuesday came to be known as the event that set in motion what was the worst economic collapse in history, the infamous Great Depression, which lasted over a decade. Former President of the United States, Herbert Hoover, passed it on as “a passing incident in our national lives.” As a result of his belief in rugged individualism, Hoover concluded that it was not up to the federal government to try and
The depression of the 30’s came to many as a great shock, especially after just coming out of the wild and lavish ‘roaring’ 20’s. The sudden shift in the atmosphere; this crash of the stock market (Oct. 29, 1920) seemed to pull the rug out from under the American people leaving many dazed and confused, not knowing where to turn to. All hope was turned to Hoover, -president at the time- but soon any and every last glimmer of optimism turned to dust as Hoover failed to keep his people above water like many past presidents. This is when Franklin Delano Roosevelt stepped into the spotlight and grabbed the bull by it’s horns, imposing what is called “The New Deal” wrangling with the immense economic debt of this country and pulling the
The Great Depression of the 1930s undoubtedly marked a period of massive change and devastation throughout the entire nation. People of all backgrounds were plagued by destitution and insufferable living conditions, while unemployment rates had soared beginning with Black Tuesday, to the point where the public had begun to lose hope for the future. In enduring all of the instances of negative change, the people, whether of white or black heritage, whether rich or poor, had all shared one set of characteristics in common: the foundation of human nature. In the set of circumstances which had unfolded before the weakened citizens of the United States, unity had become less of a stretch, even necessary to maintain the nation’s former glory and prosperity, and the promise of liberty had become increasingly essential to sustain the drive of the people to pursue their passions uninterrupted by the economic depression. As is natural of such a turbulent time period, various works have been composed relating to the Great Depression, several of which invoke the components of human nature. Indeed, human nature had upheld the nation throughout the 1930s; without the consistency of humanity in times of desperation, there would be all but no support for the faltering economy and lifestyle. However, given the Great Depression’s sheer influence upon human nature, in times of change, whether beneficial or deleterious, society bends in the direction of prosperity.
In the 1920s, American economy had a great time. The vast majority of Americans in 1929 foresaw a continuation of the dizzying economic growth that had taken place in most of the decade. However, the prices of stock crested in early September of 1929. The price of stock fell gradually during most of September and early October. On “Black Tuesday” 29 October 1929, the stock market fell by forty points. After that, a historically great and long economic depression started and lasted until the start of the Second World War. The three causes of the Great Depression are installment buying, uneven distribution of wealth and the irrational behavior in the stock market.
The roaring twenties was a time filled with hope and change. President Warren G. Harding promised a “return to normalcy”, which reflected his own conservative values and the voters’ wants for stability and order. Americans felt that they had been through more than enough, and desired prosperity. During the years 1919 and 1920 the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments were passed; the outlaw of alcoholic beverages and the right for women to vote, which ones of the many reasons society was turning their backs on Progressivism. Republicans were beginning to return to their previous dominance. The 1920’s was an economic boom for America, including everything from an increase in jobs, a rise in plentiful goods, new consumer products, and the reduction of taxes. The country was filled with jazz music, dance, and what appeared to be a brighter future. The 1929 crash of stock market was the beginning of a downward spiral leading in to the Great Depression. The stock market crash is often to be confused as the cause of the Great Depression, although that is false. A few of the issues that lead to the Great Depression included; farming (which decreased in demand as farms increased through the states during World War I), banking, and mass unemployment. Capitalism took shape as what was once the individualistic Protestant work ethic was reshaped into industrial work on a grand scale. Each worker contributed to the greater good, and the workers were presided over by a boss
America’s Great Depression is believed as having begun in 1929 with the Stock Market crash, and ending in 1941 with America’s entry into World War II. In order to fully comprehend the repercussions and devastating effects of the Crash of 1929, it is important to examine the factors that contributed to the catastrophic event which led to The Great Depression. The Great Depression was the worst economic slump in U.S. history, and it spread to most of the industrialized world. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920s, and the