Causes of the Great Depression
explanatory Essay
710 words
The Great Depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in American history. It affected all of the US from sea to beautiful shining sea. Old and young, rich and poor, black and white, everyone suffered the consequences of the over extravagant Roaring Twenties. Businesses closed, everyone was up to their neck in debt, banks failed, and the mid-west was soon a dust bowl from over farming and reclaimed equipment. With the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in place, deflation, everything imaginable bought on credit, and unreliable loans, everything adding up eventually led to the stock market crashing and the Great Depression.
The Great Depression was caused by one main thing, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. Enacted in June of 1930, this tariff inflated the price of imported goods up to fifty percent. This was done by President Hoover to “increase [American] farmer protection against agricultural imports” (Investopedia.com). A mass number of economists signed a petition to stop his rash actions because they foresaw the backlash of other countries and the fact that “[they] cannot increase employment by restricting trade” (“The Baltimore Sun”-newspaper article by Thomas Sowell). The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed anyway and, just as the petitioners predicted, foreign countries increased their own tariffs on American merchandise causing businesses to close and prices of goods to go up. On the contrary to inflation, Gross Domestic Product and consumer confidence deflated in effect to all the vanishing businesses [farms-the dust bowl] and unemployment. In reaction to this horrific event, President Roosevelt passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act in 1934 encouraging global trade and supporting the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT...
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.... When nothing could grow because a burst of wind would send a dust cloud half a mile or more high, farmers could not pay their debt or loans back to the banks leading the banks to fail and businesses to close and thus the downward spiral began towards the Great Depression (“Half Broke Horses” by Jeannette Walls).
The Great Depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in American history, and was highly avoidable. Although it may have caused many horrific events to happen, the depression was a valuable lesson to America and the entire world. Now, we know to avoid outrageously high tariffs, extreme deflation, excessive “credit buying”, and innumerable loans. But we still haven’t evolved out of our greedy, dense minds.
Works Cited
Investopedia.com
The Baltimore Sun
League of Nations' World Economic Survey
USlegal.com
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in american history. it affected all of the us from sea to shining sea.
- Explains that the great depression was caused by the smoot-hawley tariff, which inflated the price of imported goods up to fifty percent.
- Explains that credit buying led to mass consumer debts, unreliable (or unpaid) loans, and a multitude of banks failing.
- Explains that americans were too ignorant to realize what was happening is a pretty valid cause for the great depression.
- Explains that the great depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in american history, and was highly avoidable.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- America's Dark Period of the Great Depressionexplanatory essayThe Great Depression is one of the darkest periods in America’s history. It was a time of despair for all Americans. The Great Depression was caused by various reasons. It also had many effects which left an impact on America still up to this day. At that time, there was no abundance of anything: not jobs, not food, and certainly not an abundance of money, but there was surely an abundance of sadness. America had no hope since the money was a thin, green line. The Great Depression impacted the economy, unemployment rate, other foreign countries, and the many lives of the people. The monstrosity officially began on October 29, 1929.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression was one of the darkest periods in america's history. it was a time of despair for all americans.
- Explains that the stock market crash of 1929 was the most major cause that led to the great depression.
- Explains that banks began to fail after the stock market crash, leaving banks with no or little money to give to businesses and farmers.
- Explains that people were worried about their money. they stopped buying unnecessary or luxury items to save money and help support their families. the reduction in purchasing items eventually led to a decrease in the work force, which increased the unemployment rate.
- Explains that americans blamed herbert hoover for the crisis. the hawley-smoot tariff increased taxes on imported goods in america, which led to a decrease in trade with other foreign countries.
- Explains that hoover tried to decrease the unemployment rate by creating more jobs, but it made the economy suffer even more than it already had.
- Analyzes the effects of the great depression on the economy, unemployment rates, and people's lives.
- Explains that the great depression affected america, germany, france, south africa, and canada. these countries depended on america's trade and went into some small crisis.
- Explains that the great depression took a lot of hard work to get america to where it used to be. franklin delano roosevelt, aka fdr, got elected easily, in hope of getting america out of the crisis.
- Describes how fdr shut down banks and established the new deal, which helped improve america's economy. the great depression didn't end until world war 2.
988 wordsRead More - The Great Depressionanalytical essayThe Great Depression began in October 1929, when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly. Thousands of investors lost all of their of money and were forced to live on the streets often going without food. This crash led into the Great Depression. The ensuing period of 10 years ranked as the worst period of high unemployment and low business activity in modern times. Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions of Americans jobless, homeless, and without food. Many people came to depend on the government or charity to provide them with food. The Depression became a worldwide business slump of the 1930's that affected almost all nations. It led to a sharp decline in world trade as each country tried to protect their own industries. The Depression led to political turmoil in many countries such as Germany where poor economic conditions helped lead to the rise of Hitler. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President in 1932 and his 'new deal' reforms gave the government more power and helped slow the depression. The Great Depression ended as nations increased their production of war materials at the start of World War II. This increased production provided jobs and put large amounts of money back into circulation. Several factors led to the great depression. One being the lack of diversification in the American economy. The prosperity of America had been basically dependent on a few industries like construction and the automobile and in the late 20's these industr...
In this essay, the author
- Examines the causes and far-reaching effects of the great depression, including its impact on american cultures and nations. the role of world war ii and the new deal in overcoming the depression is explored.
- Explains that the great depression began in october 1929, when the stock market in the united states dropped rapidly, leading to high unemployment and low business activity in modern times.
- Explains that the breakdown of international trade caused the collapse of american agriculture, the most important export industry, and the decline of u.s. goods in europe.
- Explains that canada prospered in the 20's and was the worlds largest exporter of wheat. the russian revolution stopped russia from trading their wheat, and ww1 devastated other countries throughout europe.
- Explains that the crash of 1929 ended the seemingly infinite prosperity of the 1920s. millionaires invested everything they had and then lost everything.
- Explains that farmers were hit hard by the depression, while the working class lost their jobs and homes. the upper class was badly hit, some went from having millions of dollars in stocks to having nothing.
- Explains how the new deal helped slow the great depression in america. it created jobs and relief for the population living below poverty and increased government spending.
- Explains that the poor distribution of wealth in the 20's led to the depression. farmers who were already in debt saw crop prices drop sharply, leading to failures among smaller banks.
1724 wordsRead More - How the New Deal Transcends Mere Economic Statisticsanalytical essayThe Great Depression of the 1930s is a period in history that will never be forgotten all around the world. It is described as the worst economic slump ever to have an effect on the United States, and as a result the rest of the industrialized world. The Depression brought with it a number of consequences for instance a huge decline in the standards of living of the working class, the disintegration of numerous nations' economies and mass political disturbance and division.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the agricultural adjustment act raised crop prices by eradicating surplus generated. the government rewarded farmers $200 million to cultivate less than 10 million acres of crop.
- Explains that civilian conservation corps provided employment opportunities to young men to build up parks, plant trees, and other projects to avoid another dust bowl.
- Explains that nira provided money to several states to offer employment in the construction of community buildings.
- Explains that it provided insurance to people who were retired and of the age of 65 years or older.
- Describes the great depression as the worst economic slump ever to have an effect on the united states and the rest of the industrialized world.
- Explains how the great depression impacted america's economy, and how other european countries faced high war debts.
- Explains that president herbert hoover was opposed to any type of federal welfare. he and directors of business, banking, and labor worked collectively to improve the economy.
- Analyzes how the second new deal helped the economy by spending at the bottom, and the national labor relations act prevented intimidation and coercion in breaking up unions.
1650 wordsRead More - The Great Depression and the New Dealexplanatory essayThe Great Depression was in no way the only depression the country has ever seen, but it was one of the worst economic downfalls in the United States. As for North America and the United States, the Great Depression was the worst it had ever seen. In addition to North America, the Depression greatly affected Europe and other various countries throughout the world significantly during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The Great Depression was caused by the collapse of the Stock Market, which happened in October of 1929. The crash exhausted about forty percent of the paper values of common stocks. It was the worst depression due to the fact that at the time of the Great Depression the government involvement in the economy was higher than it had ever been. A unique government agency had been set up exclusively to prevent depressions and their related troubles for instance bank panics. All of ...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that herbert hoover's actions were passed by congress and signed by himself, including the smoot-hawley tariff, which raised tariffs.
- Explains that roosevelt set up numerous programs to bring america back from the depression. the new deal helped alleviate many of the problems during the great depression.
- Explains that the stock market crash of 1929 caused the great depression, allowing herbert hoover and franklin d. roosevelt to take some action as president.
- Explains that franklin d. roosevelt was ready for action in response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the great depression, unlike the previous president, hubert hoover.
986 wordsRead More - The Causes Of The Great Depressionexplanatory essayThe Great Depression was a time that the stock market crashed and world trade stopped, people didn’t have a place to live, and people didn’t have jobs. The Great Depression started on October 29, 1929, this time period was devastating to both rural and urban lifestyles. As a result of the Great Depression, the unemployment rate in America had dropped from a high of twenty-five percent to fifteen percent. The rich did not take as big of a fall as the poor did. Great Depression caused massive levels of poor, hunger, there were more people and less jobs and political unrest. The government tried to solve the Great Depression with the New Deal.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the great depression as a time when the stock market crashed, world trade stopped, and people didn't have jobs. the government tried to solve it with the new deal.
- Explains that during the great depression, fourteen million people lived in crowded, unheated, and no electricity apartments. many of the cities attracted people from the rural areas that lost their farms.
- Describes the hardships faced by rural families during the great depression, such as dryness and heat, and the dust bowl.
- Explains that the new deal was a set of federal programs launched by president franklin d. roosevelt.
- Explains that the public works administration was a program created by the government to provide jobs and economic status during the great depression.
- Explains that urban life attracted many people from the rural areas that lost their farms. the new deal helped fix some of the great depression issues.
698 wordsRead More - Main Causes of The Great Depressionexplanatory essayMain Causes of The Great Depression The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. 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 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression was the worst economic slump ever in u.s. history and spread to virtually all of the industrialized world.
- Explains that the maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the united states.
- Explains that excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually led to large market crashes. this imbalance of wealth caused the american economy to capsize.
- Explains that the "roaring twenties" was an era when our country prospered tremendously. however, the rewards of "coolidge prosperity" of the 1920's were not evenly shared among all americans.
- Analyzes henry ford's example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class.
- Explains that disposable income per capita rose 9% from 1920 to 1929, while those with income within the top 1% enjoyed a stupendous 75% increase.
- Explains how calvin coolidge's administration and the conservative-controlled government favored business, and as a result, the wealthy who invested in these businesses.
- Explains how andrew mellon, coolidge's secretary of the treasury, was the main force behind these and other tax cuts throughout the 1920s. even the supreme court expanded the gap between the socioeconomic classes.
- Explains how the supreme court ruled minimum-wage legislation unconstitutional in adkins v. children's hospital. the disparity of wealth between well-to-do and middle-income citizens made the u.s. economy unstable.
- Opines that we are not able to purchase the abundance that modern methods of agriculture, mining and manufacturing make available in such bountiful quantities.
- Explains that three quarters of the u.s. population would spend essentially all of their yearly incomes to purchase consumer goods such as food, clothes, radios, and cars.
- Explains that the u.s. relied on credit sales, luxury spending, and investment from the rich to keep the economy on an even keel.
- Explains that credit allowed one to "telescope the future into the present", creating artificial demand for products which people couldn't ordinarily afford.
- Explains that the u.s. economy was reliant on luxury spending and investment from the rich to stay afloat during the 1920's.
- Explains that in 1929, a mere 200 corporations controlled approximately half of all corporate wealth. while the automotive industry was thriving in the 1920's, some industries, agriculture in particular, were declining steadily.
- Explains that the average per capita income in 1929 was $750 a year for all americans, whereas an average annual income for someone working in agriculture was only $273. the prosperity of the 1920's was not evenly shared among industries.
- Explains that the automotive industry was the driving force behind many other booming industries in the 1920's.
- Explains how the automobile industry grew faster than the automotive industry itself. the fuel industry also profited and expanded, with companies like ethyl corporation making millions with "knock-free" fuel additives for cars.
- Explains that luxury hotels were needed for the wealthy upper-class. the construction industry benefited tremendously from the automobile.
- Explains that the automobile industry affected construction in the 1920's because many other industries relied on it.
- Explains that the construction industry grew by around $5 billion dol! lars, nearly 50%, during the 1920's. radio stations, electronic stores, and electricity companies all needed the radio to survive.
- Explains that several factors led to the concentration of wealth and prosperity into the automotive and radio industries.
1895 wordsRead More - The Causes Of The Great Depressionexplanatory essayThe Great Depression Emmanuel Kangah History 101 April 13, 2014 The Great Depression was a period in America’s history that scarred the economic welfare of it citizens, however when it was over the many lessons were learned and the American people became stronger than before. Leaders and politicians kept a positive attitude and expected that once the country bounced back from the lost, that it would be an uphill battle to sustain the economy. President Herbert Hubert stayed optimistic but he could not dodge being blamed for the economic downfall by the American people and as a result was not re-elected. Many believed that The Great Depression was just a recession that could have been remedied, instead leading monetary authorities made poor decisions that caused the recession to worsen.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression scarred the economic welfare of its citizens. leaders and politicians kept a positive attitude and expected that once the country bounced back, it would be an uphill battle to sustain the economy.
- Explains that the stock market crashed in october 1929, which deleted the value of all paper stocks. many people lost their life savings and unemployment rose to a rate of 25%.
- Explains how business became affected by the great depression, since the stock market crashed. they had to cut back things like the products and hours and wages of employees and lay off their workers.
- Explains that companies on main street became affected by the depression, as were small farmers. dust storms destroyed crops, and farmers endured hardships of foreclosed lands and homelessness.
- Explains that roosevelt introduced the new deal, a four-day 'holiday' for all banks, and ratified the 21st amendment, which permanently ended prohibition. roosevelt understood the importance of small farmers.
- Explains that roosevelt offered the many new programs to save the country from the great depression, but it couldn't be done overnight.
- Explains that president roosevelt initiated the social security act to help unemployed retirees. it was a retirement insurance policy that had to be paid for by the working people and their employers.
- Opines that president roosevelt was a hero to most people. he cared about the welfare of the common people during the great depression era.
- Explains that roosevelt was a great hero to african americans, catholics, and jews. he created programs and jobs to help americans who were suffering from the rise of unemployment rates during the great depression.
- Explains that roosevelt demanded that good military jobs were given to minorities. pearl harbor transformed the u.s. economic and social status for good.
738 wordsRead More - Causes of The Great Depressionanalytical essayImagine a society where over 25% of the population was unemployed. That is what it reached during The Great Depression (“The Great Depression”). During the depression unemployment rates were the highest they have ever been. It is highly speculated to this day on what exactly caused The Great Depression. Most historians agree it was a chain of events, one after another, that brought our country into chaos. Some events were more impactful than others. These events caused pandemonium among the public, which blew it even more out of proportion by trying to save themselves from bankruptcy. The three major events that caused The Great Depression were the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the bank crisis, and public overreaction.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression was a chain of events, one after another, that brought our country into chaos. the stock market crash of 1929, the bank crisis, and public overreaction.
- Analyzes how the stock market crash of 1929 was the sole cause of the great depression.
- Explains that the stock market was doing extremely well and never seemed to decrease so people believed it was a guaranteed profit. this triggered the stock market crash of 1929, which led to the great depression.
- Explains that the banking system was characterized by small to medium-sized firms, which meant they were prone to going bankrupt.
- Analyzes how the public contributed to the great depression in many ways. they panicked and sold stocks to lower the stock price. when banks went under, chaos was just waiting to happen.
- Explains that the stock market crash of 1929, the bank crisis, and public overreaction caused the great depression.
- Explains that bank failures during the 1930s great depression. n.p., 2003. pettinger, tejvan. what cause the wall street crash of 1929?
707 wordsRead More - American Culture and Lifestyle During The Great Depressionexplanatory essayThe Great Depression was one of the most important historical events that has happened within the last century that impacted every Americans life one way or another. There were many factors that could be an explanation of why The Great Depression happened, but there is no one definitive list of the reasons of what caused The Great Depression. It was a mixture of events in the United States and outside of it that probably led to this period of time to happen. The main reason that everyone could agree on was the event of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Because of The Crash, it made people go on a bank run which made thousands of banks to close because they simply did not have all the money for all the people wanting to withdraw their savings. Because everyone was trying to take their savings out, most people were turned down by the bank and essentially lost of their savings in the bank. The banks were failing and because they had no more money left, this stopped the banks from having available credit for people to use which made matters even worse for the people. This leads people to poverty and were left with nothing. Because people were poor and were scared of spending their money now, it made people stop buying extra things that weren't essential to live. This was the cause of the unemployment rates during this time period because if no one was buying anything, then there was no reason to keep extra workers for things people are not buying.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression was one of the most important historical events within the last century that impacted every american life one way or another.
- Explains that the smoot-hawley tariff act of 1930 increased the tariff rates on almost everything that was imported from other countries. the dust bowl caused massive destruction of american agriculture.
- Explains that even though the great depression officially started at the end of 1929, things were already tough on the americans. the smoot-hawley tariff ruined a lot of the world economy.
- Analyzes how the start of world war ii helped end the great depression in the united states by creating millions of jobs for americans. sports and entertainment became different, but people were waiting for change.
- Explains that entertainment became less important during the great depression, but it was also an escape for people. the government tried to get some of the entertainers back to work through programs.
- Describes how e. y. harburg was affected by the stock market crash and shut down his company with lots of debt. ira gershwin suggested him to start writing song lyrics for the song brother, can you spare me a dime?
- Describes how they were relieved when the crash came. they were released. being in business was something they detested. when they found that they could sell a song or poem, they became me.
- Explains that jazz was a big part of the music industry at the time and they would listen to songs like it don't mean a thing and all of me by louis armstrong.
- Explains that books were a great way for people to escape reality, since they dealt with issues like the common person during the great depression.
- Explains that baseball was the most popular sport in america back then, but the numbers in the audience were almost cut to half during this time. football was another good sport for people to watch.
- Explains that the 1932 summer olympics were held in los angeles and many of the athletes were not able to attend because they had no way to pay the travel fee's.
- Explains that children would play outside without toys and play cheap board games like scrabble and monopoly. the family could get hours of entertainment with the radio.
1532 wordsRead More - The Great Depression in Americaexplanatory essayThe Great Depression was a time of total despair. Years of economic downturn not only affected the United States but may European countries as well. Americans endured lost of fortunes, homes, jobs and personal tragedies. Very few alive today remember what it was like, and to the rest of us, it is just a piece of history that we can only imagine. The Great Depression reeked havoc on the stock market, banking, industries, and agriculture that led to massive unemployment, breadlines and fear that lasted over a decade.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the great depression was not the only depression or the longest, nor was it the sharpest in contraction.
- Explains that the great depression reeked havoc on the stock market, banking, industries, and agriculture that led to massive unemployment, breadlines and fear.
- Cites boardman, f.w., drewry, robert, and a.j. o'connor. the indigenous role in business enterprise.
- Explains that the annals of america vol.15. 1929-1939 the great depression. william benton & encyclopedia britannica 1968 the writers and photographers of the associated press.
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